Dakshina Kannada, Feb 23 (IANS): A social media monitoring centre has been established at the Mangaluru Police Commissioner's office to monitor social media posts and accounts which cause disharmony, provoke people in the society in the coastal Karnataka region.

The cell has been established as the hijab row has led to provocative messages on social media accounts causing communal disharmony especially in the communally sensitive coastal region comprising Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada and Udupi districts with the focus on Mangaluru city.

The cell is already monitoring more than 1,000 social media accounts belonging to various religious, student, labour and political organisations, police said.

The Facebook page named 'Mangaluru Muslim' had put out a 'celebratory message' after the murder of Bajrang Dal activist Harsha in Shivamogga on Sunday night leading to public outrage. The police are looking into the issue and have launched an investigation.

The cell, which will be managed by six experts, has four desks such as 'organisation', 'online media', 'individual' and 'Law and Order'. These desks would monitor WhatsApp groups, Facebook accounts, websites, Telegram, Instagram, online media, print as well as visual media. The cell will function around the clock.

Earlier, cyber police station and Economic and Narcotic police station were merged and upgraded as Cyber Economic and Narcotics (CEN) Police station.

The CEN police station will handle cyber crimes and this unit will monitor social media accounts and pass on information to the concerned police departments.