In wake of the posting of cartoons on chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Facebook, the criminal investigation department (CID) of the West Bengal police has written to the social networking site to erase the canards against the chief minister. Sources revealed that the CID’s move came after an order from the Writers’ Buildings.
According to official sources, an email was sent from the CID to the headquarters of Facebook at California in US on Monday, urging its authorities to remove all the insulting and derogatory caricatures on Ms Banerjee which are being circulated through it.
The CID has also appealed the Facebook to detect the “sources” from where such offensive items had originated, official sources disclosed. CID sources added that the email was sent from the office of deputy inspector-general of the police (operations) K. Jayaraman at CID headquarters in Bhawani Bhavan.
Meanwhile, rattled by the all-round criticism of Mamata Banerjee government for the arrest of the professor of Jadavpur University for sending through email the cartoon of the chief minister, Trinamul Congress MP Derek O’Brien on Monday ruled out any scrutiny or monitoring of the social networking media. “Let me categorically state that the Trinamul Congress never had nor does it intend to have any cell to monitor social media,” Mr O’Brien said.
Rejecting the speculation that the ruling party has established cells to monitor social networking websites, like Facebook and Twitter, Mr O’Brien added: “These rumours are being spread by people who have other agendas. The freedom of the media is non-negotiable.”