Faced with criticism over its perceived lack of sensitivity
and outreach to the northeast community in the capital, Delhi Police is set to
launch a Facebook page and a Twitter account for people from the northeast
where they can post complaints and suggestions.
In another move, a 24-hour Delhi Police helpline will be publicised widely by
their social media websites.
The decision was taken by Delhi Police in the wake of an alleged “racist”
attack on Arunachal Pradesh student Nido Tania that led to his death and a
furore among people from the northeast region.
Delhi Police already has a committee, formed in 2012 and headed by a joint
commissioner of police, to tackle problems faced by students and other people
from the northeastern states living in Delhi. It is currently being headed by
Joint Commissioner Robin Hibu, who hails from the region.
“A Facebook and Twitter account of Delhi Police will be launched soon where
students from the northeastern region can put forth their grievances and
suggestions,” a police officer told IANS.
He said the accounts will be monitored regularly by a police team with good
knowledge of social media and computer handling. “Delhi Police will take note
of the posts and act upon them.”
“We will also post the action taken by Delhi Police on the complaints and
suggestions,” he added.
Delhi Police will also publicise its 24-hour helpline number - 1091 - on the
website of the ministry of development of north east region (DoNER) as well as
its Facebook and Twitter pages.
It will also encourage northeast students to pen down their thoughts and
experiences on wattpad - an online community themed around writing and
story-telling on which users can post articles, stories, and poems about
anything.
The DoNER ministry has already launched a support centre for students from the
northeast following the death of Tania.
The decision was arrived at after a joint meeting between Delhi Police and
officials of DoNER Feb 5, said another police official.
The support centre has been opened at the NorthEast Council Guest House in
Chanakyapuri in central Delhi. Professional counsellors will be hired on
contractual basis to deal with problems and issues raised by northeast students
at the support centre.
In another step at outreach, Delhi Police is planning to conduct half-day
seminars once a month that will see professional counsellors and northeast
people discuss issues and problems faced by them. In this move, the DoNER
ministry would also chip in.
Delhi Police holds meetings once in two months with students and people from
the northeast in the seven police districts of the capital. The minutes of the
meetings are forwarded to Hibu and the Delhi Police commissioner, said an
official.
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