Guwahati: Students of Guwahati University have launched a "social media movement" to create awareness about the consequences of "rumour mongering" and "fake news" among three to four persons and nominate their friends on social media platforms to do the same.
The move follows the lynching of Nilotpal Das, 29, and Abhijit Nath, 30, hailing from the city, in Karbi Anglong district on June 8, apparently on the suspicion of being child kidnappers. The youths had gone to visit a waterfall near Panijuri village.
Assam director-general of police Kuladhar Saikia had said Alphajoz Timung, a 25-year-old autorickshaw driver, told villagers over phone that the youths had abducted a child, following a quarrel. The villagers believed Timung as "fake news" had been swirling on social media that hopadhora (child-lifters) were on the prowl in the district. The youths were dragged out of their car and lynched before police could reach the spot.
"The inhuman killings of the two bright youths, because of a rumour about child lifters on social media, shook us all. So we decided to do something to prevent similar incidents. After we got together on June 12 to pay tribute to the departed souls, we decided to launch a movement against misuse of social media. It is not difficult for a student or any other person to spread awareness on the issue among three to four persons. So we decided to take up this job immediately," general secretary of the university's Post Graduate Students' Union, Monjit Sharma, told The Telegraph on Sunday.
"We have already nominated All Assam Students' Union general secretary Lurin Jyoti Gogoi, assistant commissioner of police Ponjit Dowarah and entrepreneur Shyamkanu Mahanta on Facebook. They agreed to support the initiative. Our vice-chancellor Mridul Kumar Hazarika, registrar Suresh Kumar Nath and most teachers have also pledged their support," he said. Police have arrested 30 people in the lynching case and 27 for posting or forwarding "disturbing" posts on social media.
Set up in 1948, the university has nearly 5,000 post-graduate students, including those in the Gauhati University Law College and the Institute of Distance and Open Learning centre. Nearly 400 educational institutions are affiliated to the university. "We have also written to the president and general secretaries of affiliated colleges to take a similar pledge," Sharma said.
The DGP recently said many schools and colleges had taken a pledge to create awareness against social media misuse, following an appeal by the police and the government.
Chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal had said 5,000 youths each from all districts would be trained to check social media misuse.
