Bihar govt suspends internet service in Darbhanga for 72 hours fearing communal flare ups

The ban will be effective from July 27 (Thursday) 4:00 pm to July 30, 4:00 pm.

Darbhanga: Following clashes between two communities in Mabbi and Kamtaul police station limits on two occasions recently, the Darbhanga administration in Bihar has imposed a ban on internet service from July 27 to July 30. As a precautionary measure, the state government has issued instructions asking the district administration to impose a ban on internet service for the next 72 hours commencing from Thursday (July 27).

The ban on the Internet was imposed under Section-5 of the Indian Telegraph Act 1885. The Home Department of the government of Bihar has issued a directive to the district administration to close all social networking sites, including the comprehensive Internet services facility.

The ban will be effective from July 27 (Thursday) 4:00 pm to July 30, 4:00 pm. Hence, people will not be able to operate Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, WeChat, Google, Skype, Snapchat, Telegram, YouTube as well as other social networking sites for the next three days.

On the other, the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Assembly, Vijay Kumar Sinha, after visiting the affected areas with the four-member fact-finding team, lambasted the state government for hiding its failure. "The Bihar government has been trying to hide its failure. Instead of taking corrective measures, the Internet service in Darbhanga district will be put on hold for three days," said Sinha.

"Disruption in the Internet service was not new to Bihar. This happened in Bihar Sharif and Sasarma communal flare-ups during the Ram Navami procession. Jawahar Kushwaha, BJP's former MLA in Sasaram, was put behind bars. It was just like an undeclared emergency. The state government has been trying to create fear psychosis by suspending Internet service."