According to a notice released on Thursday, social media platforms have been banned in the Darbhanga district of Bihar till July 30 due to unrest after an altercation over the flying of a religious flag.
In order to provoke the public and do harm to life and property, as well as disrupt peace and tranquility, certain antisocial individuals are utilizing the internet to propagate unacceptable material, the report said.
The state Home Department’s directive to all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) stated that from July 27, 2023, at 4 p.m., until July 30, 2023, “any messages to or from any person or class of persons relating to any subject or pictorial content through social networking sites or applications shall not be transmitted in Darbhanga district.”
However, locals claimed that other websites in the area were also down, which was impacting crucial internet-based services.
On Sunday, a fight broke out at Bazar Samiti Chowk in Darbhanga town when some individuals took issue with the raising of a religious flag so close to another community’s place of worship, according to the police.
According to them, as the conflict became more tense, people of the two groups started throwing stones at each other until the police and local authorities were able to calm things down.
According to authorities, many persons were detained in relation to the event. “Darbhanga has perfect control of the issue. The region has enough troops assigned to look out for any potentially dangerous situations. According to Additional Director General (ADG) of Police (Headquarters) JS Gangwar, the district police are keeping a tight eye on the region.
Due of Muharram, he said, security has been stepped up across the state.
“To check any untoward incident,” he stated, “twenty-four companies of Bihar Special Armed Police (BSAP), 4,500 home guards, 7,790 trainee constables, and six companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed in the state.”
The officer said that attempts are being made to identify and track persons who publish provocative, inappropriate, and blasphemous information. Cyber-patrolling and social media monitoring have also been stepped up.