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The Uttar Pradesh police has suspended internet services at various places in the state to check the spread of communally sensitive posts and rumours in light of the utterly sensitive Ayodhya Land Dispute verdict, reported Scroll.in.
While the services were shutdown in Aligarh and Agra yesterday, shortly after midnight, Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police, O.P. Singh said that the shutdown could be imposed on other districts too.
“Our social media cells are keeping constant watch on 673 people active on Internet whose post or comments can trigger trouble. Our policemen have identified potential threats and hotspots at district, police station and locality levels. We have also identified 31 sensitive districts such as Agra, Aligarh, Meerut, Moradabad, Lucknow, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur and others to maintain rule of law,” he said, while also stating that Section 144 of the CrPC has also been imposed on the state.
Meanwhile, restrictions were also imposed in parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. “Social media is being monitored,” said Police Commissioner Anand Shrivastav in Jaipur. “WhatsApp groups spreading hate messages have been identified and are being deleted.” He said that action would be taken against those spreading hateful messages, and urged people not to be influenced by rumours.
Meanwhile, news outlets reported panic buying ahead of the Supreme Court verdict as people rushed to ATMs to withdraw money and buy essentials, with maximum rush being seen in parts of the old city.
Section 144 has also been imposed in Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Meanwhile, the right-wingers have run amok on Twitter by trending hashtags on the Ayodhya verdict like #RamMandir, #JaiShriRam, Temple, #राम_मंदिर, #जय_श्रीराम, and #राम_सत्य_हैं_राम_ही_साक्षी.
While security has been beefed up all over the country, primary reports coming in from our volunteers say that a situation of calm has been sustained in the nation.
The Supreme Court judgment on the Ayodhya land dispute was delivered earlier today on November 9 by a Constitution bench of comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justices S ABobde, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer.
They delivered a unanimous judgment in favour of Ram JanmabhoomiNyas, while also saying it would allot a piece of land for a mosque at a prominent location in Ayodhya. The SunniWakf Board, one of the main litigants of the Ayodhya Ram janmabhoomi title suit, calling for peace, has declared that though they respect the judgment, they are not satisfied and will seek a review in the matter.
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