Manipur govt extends mobile internet ban for another 5 days till Oct 31

"To thwart the designs and activities of anti-nationals and anti-socials and to maintain peace and communal harmony.." the notification said

The Manipur government has extended mobile internet ban for another five days till October 31, officials said on Thursday.

The move comes barely a week after Chief Minister N Biren Singh had said the government would withdraw the ban within the next few days.

The ban was extended following "apprehensions that some anti-social elements might use social media extensively for transmission of images, hate speech and hate videos inciting the passions of the public which might have serious repercussions on the law and order situation," a government notification said.

The notification by commissioner (home) T Ranjit Singh informed that the DGP vide letter dated October 25 had "reported that there are still reports of incidents of violence like confrontation of the public with security forces, attempts to mob elected members residences and civil protests in front of police stations."

"To thwart the designs and activities of anti-nationals and anti-socials and to maintain peace and communal harmony and to prevent any loss of life, it has become necessary to take adequate measures to maintain law and order in public interest by stopping the spread of disinformation and rumours through social media platforms," the notification said.

Mobile internet was banned in the state after violence broke out on May 3. Though it was restored on September 23, it had to be curbed again four days later on September 26 after students clashed with security forces after images of the bodies of two missing youths surfaced.