MP: 5 cops suspended for chatting on WhatsApp during duty

Five policemen were suspended after they were found chatting on WhatsApp while on duty in sensitive areas of Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur city on the day of the Supreme Court's verdict in Ayodhya case, an official said on Sunday. The five personnel, all sepoys, were deployed in some sensitive city areas on Saturday in view of the apex court's judgment in the Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute in Ayodhya.

Jabalpur's Superintendent of Police Amit Singh said when he conducted a surprise inspection in those areas, he found five policemen busy chatting on social media platform WhatsApp. "All the five were suspended late Saturday night," the official said.

In view of the apex court's order in the Ayodhya case, over 2,500 police personnel were deployed in various parts of the city, he said. Several police pickets and 25 temporary police outposts were set up for continuous surveillance across Jabalpur, he added.