Strict vigil on social networking sites

To counter online campaign of militants, the Jammu Police have activated cyber crime cells all over the state to keep strict vigil on social networking sites.

Sources told Deccan Herald that the step has been taken in the wake of reports that the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) terror outfits were luring youth into the militancy using social networking sites.

“The cells will detect the campaigners, try to identify and nab them. The police higher ups have asked the cyber experts to go all out to detect online campaign launched by the LeT and HM to expand their network and lure the youth into militancy and other anti-national activities like stone pelting and hosting of Pakistani flags,” they said.

In the last few years militants have been reportedly using social networking sites, and particularly Facebook and Twitter to entice misguided youth to leave their homes and take up arms. Sources said that the police top brass were disturbed after intelligence inputs that some top militants of the LeT and HM outfits have adopted the strategy of international terror outfit Islamic State (IS) to attract the youngsters towards terrorism.

“There had been reports that some of the youth had been attracted towards the two outfits after online campaign, which disturbed the police and intelligence agencies and prompted them to take remedial measures,” they added. A senior police officer said the LeT and HM strategy was based on the line of IS, which had attracted the youth worldwide through its online campaign.