Don’t share unverified social media messages: HM to forces

New Delhi, September 19
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today cautioned people against anti-national elements trying to foment disharmony in society by urging them to desist from forwarding messages received on the social media without verifying their authenticity.
The Home Minister said on many occasions, wrong information and false news were circulated on the social media such as WhatsApp and people took them to be true.
“I want to tell SSB jawans not to believe such messages and forward these to anyone without verification as anti-national elements have been trying to foment trouble in the society. We all have to be careful before believing or forwarding them,” Singh said after he launched the intelligence wing of the Nepal-Bhutan border guarding force.
Lauding the role of the SSB, which guards the 1,751-km Indo-Nepal and 699-km Indo-Bhutan borders, Singh said it was quite tough to guard open borders, which allow visa-free movement of people, than fenced borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh. “In an open border, the security men do not know who is anti-national, which way a criminal is coming or who is carrying fake currency or fake drugs,” he added.
The SSB’s intelligence wing will gather information along the borders with Bhutan and Nepal. The Nepal border is mostly used by criminals and Kashmiri militants returning from Pakistan. The Bhutan border is known to be frequented by cadre of Assam-based insurgent group National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), which has even attacked Bhutanese nationals in the past.
This wing will have 650 field and staff agents, as it has been declared the lead agency, to gather actionable information, an official in the Home Ministry said, adding the move was essential as the SSB’s operations were based on intelligence to prevent criminals and smugglers from taking advantage of the friendly borders with the two nations.