INDIA. Manipur: After an Eco-Van was allegedly set on fire by a few teenagers in Phougakchao Ikhai Awang Leikai, mobile data services have been halted in Manipur for the next five days. “The crime has caused severe communal environment and volatile law and order situation in the state,” the Manipur administration stated.
The directive continues, “Some antisocial elements heavily utilise social media to transmit hate speech, hate images, and hate video messages stoking the public’s passions. The public is being incited using social media, which has become a useful weapon for rumour mongers and might have major consequences for the state’s law and order situation.”
After a clash between student demonstrators and police broke out in Imphal on Saturday, about 30 students and two police officers were hurt.
At Kabo Leikai in the Imphal West district, more than 100 tribal students gathered to protest for the release of several ATU Manipur officials (ATSUM). In the hill areas of Manipur, the student leaders imposed a complete shutdown followed by an economic blockade.
They were requesting the introduction of the Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) Amendment Bill, 2021, as suggested by the Hill Areas Committee (HAC).
“It has become necessary to take adequate measures to maintain law and order in the public interest, by stopping the spread of disinformation and false rumours, through various social media platforms such as Whatsapp, Facebook, etc. on mobile phones and SMS, for facilitating and/or mobilising anti-national and antisocial elements, in order to maintain peace and communal harmony and to prevent any loss of life or danger to public/private property,” the statement reads.
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