Imphal: The Manipur authorities on Saturday, contemplating the state’s risky scenario, prolonged the ban on cell Internet service for one more 5 days until November 23. An official mentioned the ban was prolonged as a safety measure to curb the unfold of deceptive messages, images and movies by anti-social components. Mobile Internet was first banned in Manipur 200 days in the past after the ethnic violence between non-tribal Meitei and tribal Kuki-Zo communities broke out in Manipur on May 3.
Since then, the ban has been prolonged each 5 days. Manipur Commissioner (Home), T. Ranjit Singh, mentioned in a notification on Saturday that the Director General of Police has mentioned that there are experiences associated to the risky regulation and order scenario in Manipur like ambush at safety forces, protests in opposition to lacking individuals, freeway blockade, sit-in-protest, and many others.
“There is a terror that some anti-social components would possibly use social media extensively for transmission of photos, hate speech and hate video messages inciting the passions of the general public which could have severe repercussions for the regulation and order scenario in Manipur.
“There is an imminent danger of loss of life and /or damage to public/private property, and wide spread disturbances to public tranquility and communal harmony, as a result of inflammatory material and false rumours, which might be transmitted/circulated to the public through social media/ messaging services on mobile services, SMS services and dongle services,” the notification mentioned.
Last week, the Manipur authorities had lifted the ban on cell web in 4 Naga tribal inhabited hill district headquarters, which haven’t been affected by the ethnic violence.
On a trial foundation, the Internet ban was withdrawn within the district headquarters of Ukhrul, Senapati, Chandel and Tamenglong after the Manipur High Court on November 6 directed the state authorities to renew cell Internet companies, on a trial foundation, in all these district headquarters which haven’t been affected by the ethnic violence.
In view of the state authorities’s steps to renew cell Internet service in 4 hill district headquarters, the All Naga Students Association, Manipur (ANSAM) introduced on November 9 the withdrawal of the financial blockade from the highways.
After the scenario largely normalised, the Internet ban was lifted on September 23, nevertheless it needed to be imposed once more on September 26 after a whole bunch of scholars clashed with safety forces after photos of the our bodies of two lacking college students had been circulated on social media.
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