Chandigarh: The Punjab Police will soon have a Facebook page and two Twitter handles, including one for the DGP's office, to counter propaganda by radicals or gangsters to influence people, especially the youth, through social media, an official said. 

The social media cell will be headed by an Inspector General rank officer and comprise 8 to 10 personnel, who will respond to any threat of misinformation campaign, the official said. The police have proposed to have a Facebook page, two Twitter handles Punjab Police and DGP and a YouTube account, he said. 

"We will soon have our presence on the social media," Director General of Police (DGP) for Provisioning and Modernisation V K Bhawra said here. "If there is any misinformation campaign and false propaganda on social media, we will put correct information and facts in the public domain so that the youth can also see this side," he said. 

"Generally, you will find that when any misinformation campaign is being spread on social media, there is no official version," Bhawra said. The Punjab Police decided to be on social media to reach out to people quickly. "Our agenda is to connect with people particularly the youth and highlight the good and positive work of the police," he said. 

The move by the police comes in the backdrop of alleged radicalisation campaigns being carried out from various social media platforms. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh last year had also directed the police to remain vigilant against such campaigns. The cell will also channelise complaints received through social media to authorities concerned, Bhawra said. 

"We can channelise complaints to the right places, like to the Bureau of Investigation, Vigilance, etc," he said. The Punjab Police had hired an agency to give its plan of having presence on social media a final shape.