Thiruvananthapuram:
Policemen in Kerala can no longer use their designation when expressing their opinions on social networking sites, Home Minister T. Radhakrishnan said on Tuesday.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Mr Radhakrishnan with senior police officials.
Speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram after the meeting, the minister said that from now on, no police officer should use his designation on a social networking site.
"This cannot be done because police officers have to follow discipline, and logging on to social networking sites and expressing their opinion on issues is against police rules," Mr Radhakrishnan said.
"They can, however, log on to such sites but cannot use their official designation," he added.
The decision comes against the backdrop of the suspension of a police officer for expressing his views using his official designation on a social networking site.