Ban on mobile internet to stay in Ahmedabad

The DCB also lodged an FIR against unknown “anti-social elements” on Tuesday for spreading provocative messages through social media and various mobile applications related to the Patidar agitation.

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A press release said that the FIR was filed by sub-inspector of the cyber cell under direction from Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime) Deepan Bhadran. The release described the offence as “repeated circulation of video clips of the rallies held under the Patidar agitation over the last two months in the state, interviews on TV channels and other footage related to the agitation via social media like Facebook Whats App and YouTube with an intention to spread violence by discriminating people on the basis of religion and caste”.

The FIR also charged the unknown accused of using multiple social media accounts “to spread provocative messages, speeches, comments on social media like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube via mobile phones and internet that could lead to a riot and create fear and insecurity among communities”,

Officials told Indian Express on conditions of anonymity that it had received at least six audio clips and about eight video clips that have objectionable content related to particular communities and religions. Officials said they are trying to find the origin of such messages and common links. They said that there are messages which are being repeatedly sent to various users.

“We are trying to find the senders and the origin of such messages. We have verified some of the clips and their sources. In some of the cases, we have found that these objectionable messages, targeting particular communities and religions, are spread after several improvisations after the recipients forward it to others. These messages have nothing to do with the alleged police atrocities, but they are provoking tension between two communities and even religions,” said a police official involved in the investigation.

Bhadran told The Indian Express, “We wrote to the police commissioner’s office requesting to extend the internet ban for a couple of more days. The reason is that use of social media, some of the applications (like Whatsapp) may hamper the peace. On social media, there are posts which are affecting the friendlier relationships between some of the communities. In view of this, we wrote to the commissioner’s office and subsequently the ban has been extended”.

Ahmedabad collector Beniwal said that the collector’s office has issued orders to lift the ban from 5.30 pm on Tuesday and mobile data services including applications like whatsapp have been restored by the telecom operators operating in the rural areas. “ The city area limits are under police commissioner’s jurisdiction so the decision to restore it in urban areas is to be taken by the police commissioner”, said Beniwal.