Vijayawada: Director General of Police Dr M. Malakondaiah has issued directions to his deputies to make sure that police personnel do not form public groups on WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook. Being a uniformed department, the police is supposed to confine itself to its area of operation, he has suggested. Excess dissemination to unwarranted of information leads to unpleasant developments, Dr Malakondaiah, who took over recently, said.
The official communication in this regard has been received by all police sub-divisions. Dr Malakondaiah has suggested that officers keep off social groups which encourage or promote caste feelings, which may further lead to unpleasant circumstances. “The DGP’s directions are in the true spirit of the guidelines of the uniformed forces,” said a senior officer. He said a group of officers belonging to a caste used to maintain a WhatsApp group within the department.
Dr Malakondaiah, who is aware of these developments, wants to reform this by directing police personnel against involving themselves in social media groups, within or outside the department, which may cause unnecessary problems. Elaborating on the DGP’s directions, a middle level officer said that a few officers did not understood the liberty given by the former DGP, Mr Sambasiva Rao, and their participation on social media platforms had sometimes caused problems for the department. Dr Malakondaiah’s directions were given keeping with a view to ensuring that the presence of police personnel on social media platforms should not besmirch the image of the department.
