Guwahati: In view of the escalating protests by students backed by civil society groups, the Manipur government on Tuesday imposed a temporary Internet ban in five Valley districts of the state, covering mobiles, broadband and VPNs, and clamped curfews in three districts to prevent people from coming outside their homes. There will be no Internet suspension in the state’s hilly regions.
The prohibitory orders by two Imphal district administrations came in the wake of students planning to intensify their protests demanding the removal of the director-general of police and the security adviser to the state government for their alleged inability to deal with the law and order situation in the state.
Saying that at least one person was hit on the thigh by a bullet fired from a protesting crowd of students in Thoubal district on Monday, security sources said that the prohibitory orders of the administration in the district banned the assembly of five or more persons.
The students were marching towards the police headquarters and the DC’s office. The police in a statement said the unruly mob also damaged one vehicle parked outside the court complex. An ambulance carrying some injured personnel was also pelted with stones, it added.
The Manipur home department on Tuesday released an order to “curb/temporarily suspend Internet and mobile data services, including leased lines, VSATs, broadband and VPN services” in the five districts of the state for five days from Tuesday (September 10) 3 pm to Sunday (September 15) 3 pm. The order stated that it was justified by satisfying conditions like the apprehension of “some anti-social elements” using the social media to share images, hate speech and hate video messages to incite “the passions of the public”.
It also stated that inflammatory material and false rumours might be shared through the social media, SMS and dongle services, which could lead to an “imminent danger of loss of life and/or damage to public/private property, and widespread disturbances to public tranquillity and communal harmony”.
Meanwhile, hundreds of students from various schools and colleges spent the night at a makeshift camp set up at Khwairamband Women’s Market in Imphal. The students, in their uniforms, were helped by women shopkeepers to set up camps at the market.
Student leader Ch Victor Singh told reporters: “We have given a 24-hour deadline for governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya’s response to the six demands we have placed. We will decide our future course of action after the deadline ends.”
The student representatives who also met the governor later told reporters that they have placed six demands, including the removal of the director-general of police (DGP) and the security adviser to the state government for their alleged failure to control the violence. They also called for the Unified Command, currently chaired by former CRPF DG Kuldiep Singh, to be handed over to the state government.
It is significant that at least 11 people have been killed in different incidents of ethnic violence in the state since September 1. The incidents have triggered massive student-led protests in the Valley areas, particularly in Thoubal and Imphal. At least 20 people, including police personnel, were injured after a confrontation broke out between the protesters and the police in Thoubal.
