SHILLONG: Former Superintendent of Police (SP) and principal of the Police Training School, Vivek Syiem, has said that rumour mongering can prove to be fatal and that there is a need for a system to connect the police and the media.
Speaking during a training programme on crime against women and children, problem related to investigation and systemic intervention organised by Meghalaya police on Monday, in which media persons also participated, Syiem said that the media and police should work hand in hand in disseminating correct and verified information to the public.
He also urged the police officers to ask women at the time of investigation if they want their names to go to the state crime records bureau since the details are uploaded in the police website and media picks up the information from there.
As far as traffic management is concerned, Syiem said that the media can also play an important role.
Earlier, R Muthu, Special SP (CID) said that police recognised the importance of media. He added that both police and media need to be responsible. Muthu apprised that rape and POCSO cases are not published in the police website.
President of the Shillong Press Club, David Laitphlang, urged that the police needs to give timely information to the media about incidents.
“If the information does not come to media, we are left to speculate and believe in rumours,” he said.
Police officers from different districts also participated in the training.
