“Online, social media and the data are going to be the biggest challenges for policing affairs”

"Today social media has become the potent trouble maker for any policing affairs. I will give you three examples – one is the classic example of J&K, where everything is happening on social media, whether it is a call for stone pelting or any encounter taking place, or any hindrance being caused. The second example is that of West Bengal, where a Facebook post caused a havoc in a place called Basirhat. Lastly on 1st& 2nd January, we saw what happened in Bhima-Koregaon in Maharashtra. It was all there on social media. That has become the biggest pain. So the data which is there on social media – how do you get hold of it because it is not within our legal boundaries? How much of data is available to us even it is outside the legal boundaries. It is very very miniscule. These are the 2 big challenges that the policing affairs or any law & order agency face. Another important thing that is already taking place in today’s time and was also referred even by the Prime Minister very recently is online radicalization. This is again happening on social media. It is there for all of us to see. Some of us may not be enticed towards it but lot of us does get attracted to it.  That has started to create a big havoc in the society. In the coming days, online, social media and the data are going to be the biggest challenge."

Atul Tripathi
Consultant–The National Data Council Secretariat