Social media platforms being misued: Intelligence Bureau chief Asif Ibrahim

NEW DELHI: Social media platforms are being misued to create trouble in the country and this was evident during the recent communal violence in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Asif Ibrahim said.

He also said terrorist outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM) is trying to forge a nexus with other terror groups.

IM with Lashker-e-Taiba has increased its capability for attacks in the hinterland, Ibrahim told a three-day conference of Directors General of Police (DGPs).

On the issue of misuse of social media platforms, he gave the example of a video that was circulated in western Uttar Pradesh fuelling communal tension in areas around Muzaffarnagar.

Ibrahim said that keeping the social fabric of the country intact is also a challenge including checking the misuse of the social media.

On the terror front, he said with the arrest of Yasin Bhatkal (IM founder) recently, fourty-nine terror cases have been unravelled.

The challenge for security agencies remains as far as IM is concerned as its leadership is issuing directions from across the border and efforts are being made by it to liaise with more terror groups, the IB Director said.