BHOPAL: As many as 36 newly recruited Rajasthan Police constables have landed in serious trouble for posting misleading, provocative and rebellious messages, along with AI-doctored images, in social media groups about the Police Training Centre (PTC) in Tighra in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior.
The 36 recruits, mostly from the radio-telecom wing, were among those undergoing a nine-month basic training course at PTC-Tighra. Following a detailed enquiry by a deputy SP-rank officer, they were found to have run a campaign to defame the training facility through provocative posts and manipulated images on a series of WhatsApp groups.
Confirming the development, Madhya Pradesh Additional Director General of Police (Training) Raja Babu Singh said on Friday that all the 36 constables, who were in the second month of their training, had been sent back to their original units in Rajasthan for indiscipline and for running a smear campaign against the training centre.
The 36 constables were part of a batch of 1,005 newly recruited Rajasthan Police personnel, mostly from the telecom wing, who had been posted in various police units across the state, including Jaipur, Churu, Bikaner, Sawai Madhopur, Sikar, Bharatpur and Tonk.
Sources said the recruits allegedly tried to trigger discontent among other trainees by circulating abusive posts and AI-doctored images portraying widespread resentment over the food served at the training centre’s mess.
According to informed sources, some of the constables had demanded Rajasthan dishes such as “Gatte ki Sabzi”, “Ker-Sangri” and “Bhatti ki Rotis”, instead of the machine-made food served at the facility.
When their demands were not met, they allegedly began circulating messages on multiple WhatsApp groups created for sharing training-related information. These groups included PTS Lost Item FIR Cell, Toli No 31, Sikar Training Group and PTS Indoor Class.
One AI-doctored image showing male and female trainees protesting against “stale food” was circulated to provoke other recruits to join a protest, despite the fact that no female recruits were undergoing training at the centre.
The batch of 1,005 constables had been sent to the PTC-Tighra in Gwalior for basic training following a request from the Rajasthan Director General of Police.
After the inquiry, the PTC administration handed over the 36 constables to Rajasthan Police Inspector Satvir Yadav, who escorted them back to their state.