Gehlot govt to rope in social media influencers ahead of state polls
Jaipur (PTI): The Rajasthan government will be roping in social media influencers to publicise its welfare work on social media ahead of the upcoming assembly election.
The Ashok Gehlot-led government in a notification on June 26 said that in addition to the print and electronic media, social media influencers will now be hired to advertise the government's works.
According to the notification, the influencers will be paid up to 5 lakh per month depending on a variety of parameters, including the number of followers they have and the material they post.
"The Rajasthan government would grant advertisements to social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, which are being operated from within or outside the state, in order to make the state government's public welfare programmes accessible to the general public swiftly.
"According to usage and requirements, the adverts will be delivered to account owners, operators, or social media influencers," the notification says.
The government has identified four kinds of social media influencers on the basis of number of followers and frequency with which they post.
Influencers with a minimum of 10 lakh followers will fall under the highest 'A' category. The 'B' group will consist of users with 5 lakh followers, and the 'C' category will comprise users with 1 lakh followers. Those with at least 10,000 followers will fall under the category 'D'.
In addition to the number of followers, the government notification has as a criterion the number of videos and other posts influencers shared each month over the previous six months.
The benchmark for category 'A' was set at 150 posts or 100 videos per month, while for category 'B' influencers it was a minimum of 60 videos or 100 posts per month.
According to the government, users in the 'A' category will be paid up to Rs 5 lakh per month, while users in the B, C, and D categories can earn to Rs 2 lakh, Rs 50,000, and Rs 10,000 publicising the state's schemes.
According to government officials, priority will be given to account owners or users who share content pertaining to Rajasthani art, culture, and development.
Any material that is "anti-national" or "obscene" in nature will not be allowed to be posted, they said.
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'Contract killing' plot busted in Thane; victim's brother among four held
Thane (PTI): The Thane police have uncovered a "contract killing" plot and arrested four persons, including the victim's younger brother, who allegedly hired the assailants and lodged the complaint to mislead investigators and hide his role in the murder, officials said on Sunday.
The victim, identified as Paresh Tolaram Patil (40), was hacked to death on May 12 over a property dispute, and his brother allegedly paid Rs 10 lakh to the contract killers, an official said.
The same day, Naresh Tolaram Patil (37), an auto-rickshaw driver residing in the Bhiwandi area of Maharashtra's Thane district, lodged a police complaint alleging that his elder brother Paresh had been murdered by unidentified persons.
According to Naresh, his brother was riding his motorcycle to work at Vasai in neighbouring Palghar district when the unidentified assailants intercepted him and assaulted him with sharp weapons, in-charge Superintendent of Police Anmol Mittal said.
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Following the complaint, the Ganeshpuri police registered a case of murder on May 13.
The investigation teams examined several CCTV recordings along the suspected escape routes and used advanced technical surveillance.
The police then traced the registration plate of a vehicle allegedly used by the assailants, leading to the arrest of three alleged contract killers -- Rakesh Bhagwan Patil (37), Premjit Madhukar Gharat (38), and Daksh Bhanukant Bhoir (24) -- from Palghar, the official said.
"During intense interrogation, the three persons confessed to their involvement in the killing. They revealed that the plot was masterminded by the victim's brother, Naresh Patil, who had lodged the initial police complaint to misguide the law enforcement agencies," he said.
According to the official, Naresh Patil confessed to hatching the conspiracy due to an ongoing property dispute with his elder brother and that he had offered Rs 10 lakh to the three accused to eliminate Paresh.
Naresh Patil has also been arrested, and a further probe is underway into the case, they added.
