Maharashtra police not social networking ready
12 Oct 2010
The Maharashtra Police yesterday informed the Bombay High court that the use of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter was not feasible for accepting complaints and interacting with citizens. The state police said this in response to the Bombay High Court's suggestion that websites be used, while hearing a petition where the complainant has alleged improper investigation into a murder.
Inspector general of police (Law and Order) G D Pol in a reply to the High Court stated that ''Police already have interactive websites of their own, such as www.mahapolice.gov.in where complaints can be submitted.''
A division bench of justices A M Khanwilkar and Pramod Kode had also sought to know why the police department did not adopt the investigation methods of Criminal Investigation Department. Meanwhile the public prosecutor P A Pol has sought four weeks for drawing up draft guidelines for local police stations along the lines of CID manual.
The query had come up during the hearing of a petition by Ashiwini Rane, whose husband Nikhil, a Pune-based builder, was murdered in November 2009. Ashwini had approached the court alleging there had been no progress in the probe.
The CID has now been handed over the case.
According to observers the police's reluctance to use social networking sites could have something to do with the traffic police's disastrous experience with social networking. The police department has stated though that it would reconsider the suggestion in consultation with the home department.
