After BSF jawans goes viral Uttarakhand DGP orders social media guidelines for its officials. (IE)

Uttarakhand Director General of Police on Sunday issued guidelines for usage of social media by police personnel, asking them to use proper channels for redressal of grievances.

After a BSF jawan’s video went viral on social media where he was complaining about quality of food given to jawans at the border, Uttarakhand Police on Friday banned its personnel from raising any service related grievance on social media. Police warned its officials of punitive measures if any content posted by them “tarnishes” the image of the force or policies of state and cental governments.

DGP M A Ganpati told the officers that social media tools including Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter and Youtube are used by their subordinate employees only for professional purposes.

Complaints should be presented before the Superintendents of Police or Commandants of Battalions, range IGs and DIGs concerned every Monday or before the DGP every Friday. If any content is uploaded by police officials after this banning, the police personnel will be found guilty and will be punished. The act is punishable under Incitement to Disaffection Act, 1922, where police cannot incite other police officers against their force.

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A Deputy Supretendent of Police will be nominated by the officials as Welare Officers who will listen to complaints of jawans related to service matters regularly besides monitoring cleanliness of police station or battalion premises and maintenance of hygiene in the mess being run by them. In special circumstances, any employee can share his problems with the SPs or Commandants. This they can do also through SMSes or Whatsapp messages.

BSF jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav’s video which he shared on his Facebook page made headlines and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh also demanded a probe and a report on BSF’s process of functioning.