Telangana Police will henceforth note down habitual offenders in social media offences and financial frauds as history sheeters and keep a vigil on their activities. The cybercrime police station has been directed to identify such accused persons and open history sheets to maintain close surveillance on them.
However, the Opposition BRS has cried foul over the order, accusing the Telangana police of cracking down on social media activists in the guise of tackling cyber frauds. The BRS alleged that the Congress government has resorted to maintaining history sheets after being repeatedly reprimanded in court for arresting its social media activists over frivolous issues.
Director General of Police Jitender has issued instructions to note down the names of those involved in cybercrime offences in history sheets in a bid to contain their activities. The memo stated, “It is instructed to all inspectors/Sub inspectors of Cyber Crime Police Station to identify such accused, open and maintain suspect/history sheets in CCPS records and ensure close surveillance over their activities to curb their nefarious conduct and manage the activities of habitual or potentially repeat offenders effectively.”
The memo further stated that even the names of suspects should be noted down. “It is hereby ordered to open and maintain suspects/history sheets of such offenders, even if they are not yet convicted, who fall under the category of ‘suspects’, one of the classifications of history sheeters, and submit compliance reports to this office within the stipulated time,” stated the memo.
But the BRS, which has a strong army of social media activists, suspects that the memo was issued to contain its criticism of the government and deplores equating social media activism with organised crime. BRS leader Konatham Dileep said, “After facing repeated setbacks in court over false cases filed against social media activists, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has now directed the police to open rowdy sheets against those questioning the Congress government online, unheard of anywhere else in the country. This draconian move is nothing short of bringing back an “Indira Gandhi’s Emergency” style of governance in Telangana. It is high time intellectuals, journalists, and civil society stood up against these authoritarian excesses and the police-backed suppression of dissent.”