The Punjab Police on Saturday gave social media handles 72 hours to remove objectionable content promoting gun culture.
“Appeal to Everyone to voluntarily remove any objectionable content from their Social Media handles in the next 72 hours. CM Punjab has directed that no FIRs for glorifying weapons will be registered for the next 3 days in Punjab to allow people to remove content on their own,” Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said in a tweet.
The appeal came a day after the Amritsar Rural police filed a first information report (FIR) filed against four people, including a 10-year-old boy and his father, for glorifying gun culture. This FIR was later cancelled after it was pointed out that the firearm in question was a toy gun.
The boy’s father had posted a photo of his son on the latter’s Facebook page in which the child was seen standing with a gun with a bandolier on his shoulder. The case was registered under Section 188 of the IPC, which pertains to disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant. The state government has banned public display of firearms and songs promoting gun culture, including on social media.