"People misusing social media to spread sensationalism should be ignored": Delhi Special CP Ravinder Yadav

By Ravi Jalhotra
New Delhi [India], January 10 : Delhi Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), Ravindra Yadav, said on Friday that people who misuse social media to create panic and spread sensationalism should be ignored.
In an interview with ANI, the Special CP explained that these people "misuse social media" and they aim to "spread sensationalism and violence."
While responding to a question on the Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the special CP said that these people misuse social media to elevate themselves from zero to hero.
"These people misuse social media and try to become heroes from zero through social media. They have nothing to offer, and their goal is to create sensationalism. In several cases of graffiti, there's no actual graffiti on the site of the purported claim, and the images posted are just Photoshopped to spread sensationalism. They make it viral, and such people and their posts should be ignored," he said, adding that these people are defaming our country to promote their agenda, for the sake of publicity. "Such people should be ignored," he said.
The law enforcement agencies are working on it but citizens should not give them undue attention and waste time. Such people are attention seekers who thrive only on media publicity.
In past years, there have been claims of incidents of pro-Khalistani graffiti being painted on public walls at various locations in Delhi. Ahead of Republic Day 2023, pro-Khalistani graffiti was reportedly sprayed at some locations in the national capital. Similarly, in September 2023, pro-Khalistan graffiti was found painted on a public wall at Delhi's Kashmiri Gate flyover. A month earlier, in August 2023, pro-Khalistan graffiti and slogans were found on walls near metro stations in Delhi. Suspected activists of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), a front for the separatist Khalistan group, were believed to be behind the acts, fueling security concerns ahead of the summit. The police had also made several arrests in connection with these incidents.
However, after the criminals were arrested there has been no actual graffiti in the capital in the recent past although on several occasions Pannu has made claims which were found to be completely baseless and untrue on the ground.
Further commenting on the juveniles allegedly being exploited by gangs operating from abroad to commit crimes in India, the Special CP said that some criminals had been successfully extradited.
"We have been able to successfully deport some of the criminals back to India, and processes are ongoing for others. The CBI and Interpol are involved in this matter, and we are providing them with our inputs so that the victims get justice and they face trials and are punished," he added.
The Special CP also spoke about cybercrime-related incidents and urged people to avoid falling for lucrative schemes.
"There are two aspects of cybercrime: fear and greed. Regarding fear, the public should not be afraid, as the term 'digital arrest' does not exist in the law. It's just a form of psychological fear created by fraudsters. On the other hand, with greed, people should be cautious of schemes promising lottery wins or investments that claim to multiply money. To raise awareness, the police run an awareness drive and use social media platforms to educate people on how to avoid falling victim to such crimes," Yadav said.
He added that the awareness campaigns are designed to educate the young the common man and the senior citizens who fall prey to different modus operandi according to their age group. The youth are lured to friendship traps while the old people are more prone to bank fraud and password stealing.