Indian police file cases against social media users in Kashmir amid ban

Authorities in occupied Kashmir have registered cases against social media users for violating the directives amid complete ban on broadband and mobile internet in the valley, reported Kashmir Media Service on Tuesday.

“Taking serious note of misuse of social media, the Cyber Police Station Kashmir Zone registered FIR against various social media users who defied the government orders and misused the social media platforms,” a police statement issued in Srinagar said.

The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had imposed a communication blackout in the territory to suppress the dissent against the revocation of autonomy.

The authorities had announced the restoration of 2G internet a few days ago, however, but reversed its decision on January 14, officially banning all social media sites.

The decision to partially restore internet connectivity in the region followed by a decision by the Indian Supreme Court on January 10 where it had ordered the restoration of the internet for all essential services in Jammu and Kashmir.

An indefinite suspension of internet services was a violation of the country's telecom rules, the Supreme Court had said in its orders, directing authorities in occupied Kashmir to review all curbs.

Last year in December, India had announced it would allow some incoming text messages into occupied Kashmir.

Officials in Delhi said millions in the restive Himalayan region will be able to receive service messages, including one-time passwords from financial institutions. They will still be unable to send messages, they had added.

The August crackdown has drawn international criticism, with diplomats from several countries raising concerns about the sorry state of human rights in the valley.

Several hundreds of Kashmiri politicians, activists, lawyers and others remain in custody, mostly without charge, including former chief ministers and the mayor of capital Srinagar.