Internet Services Snapped in Agra After Input on Possible Anti-CAA Violence

The ban will be applicable on both mobile and broadband internet services and will be in place between 8 AM on Thursday and 6 PM on Friday. Notably, not a single incident of anti-CAA violence has taken place thus far in Agra.

New Delhi: The district administration of Agra announced on Thursday that internet services in the city, which were restored on Monday after being snapped due to large-scale violence in Uttar Pradesh over the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), will not be available between 8 AM today and 6 PM on Friday.

District Administration of Agra: Mobile internet services and broadband services to remain suspended from 8 am today to 6 pm tomorrow.

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 26, 2019

The ban will be applicable on both mobile and broadband internet services, the administration said in its order. The ban, the order stated, was put in place to curb misinformation regarding the CAA.

“Violent protests could erupt in the city after Friday prayers in the city. Such protests have been witnessed in several districts of the state, regarding which misinformation is now being spread on social media” the order further said.

According to intelligence reports, some organisations could stage protests after prayers, leading to law and order problem in the city. Notably, not a single incident of violence took place in the city between December 19 and 21, when clashes took places between anti-CAA protesters and police in several cities, including the state capital Lucknow, where riots broke out last Thursday. Nearly two dozen protesters are said to have been killed in clashes with the police.

In the crackdown that followed, thousands of people have been arrested and notices have been sent to those found involved in the destruction of public property, to make them compensate for the same.