The suspension of internet services in Bareilly has been extended for an additional day, officials confirmed on Monday. These services will now remain unavailable until Tuesday midnight, as stated in a government order.
The initial suspension followed violent clashes last Friday, when police and local residents confronted each other in the city center. The unrest began after authorities denied permission for a demonstration organized in support of the ‘I Love Muhammad’ campaign.
In response to the violence, police have registered ten cases, naming 180 individuals and identifying approximately 2,500 unnamed participants on charges of rioting and other offenses. Around 40 people, including local cleric Tauqeer Raza Khan, who is believed to have initiated the demonstration, were arrested on Saturday.
Following these events, the State home department issued an order on Saturday, immediately suspending SMS, mobile internet, and broadband services across all service providers. The notification, signed by Secretary of Home Department, Gaurav Dayal, highlighted concerns that “messaging systems like SMS and WhatsApp, and social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube, could be extensively used to transmit information, including pictures, videos, and text, which has the potential to inflame passions and worsen the law and order situation.”
The order explicitly stated that the internet suspension was enacted “to prevent the possible misuse of the aforementioned media and internet to disrupt the peace and tranquility of the entire district and to avert further deterioration of the law and order situation, thereby helping to restore normalcy.”