Manipur suspends mobile internet for three days after violence triggers tension

The Manipur government suspended mobile internet services across the state for the next 72-hours after violence broke out on Monday morning in parts of Kamjong district and triggered fear of communal tension.

Official sources said violent clashes broke out between residents of two villages following an alleged dispute over land. Unidentified gunmen set fire on several houses in Chassad district forcing its residents to flee.

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Chief Minister N. Biren Singh told reporters in the state capital Imphal in the evening that the situation was under control and the government constituted a committee to enquire into the events leading to the violence, burning of houses and vehicles there.

As social media was promptly used to spread information about the incident, the state home department asked all mobile telecom service providers to suspend mobile internet for the next three days with immediate effect to prevent the spreading of rumour or hate messages about the incident.

The administration rushed additional forces to the violence-affected areas while a team of MLAs led by deputy chief minister Y Joykumar Singh visited the troubled areas later in the day.

"The unfortunate incidents have been used by anti-social elements to vitiate the atmosphere further by using social media such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram extensively for transmission of hate video messages and images to incite the public. The social media has also become a handy tool for rumour mongers and is being used extensively to incite the general public. Unless the use of internet/mobile data is curbed temporarily, there is a likelihood of serious repercussions in the law and order and the possibilities of communal violence in the state," said a statement issued by H. Gyan Prakash, special secretary, home department.

Kamjong district administration also clamped Section 144 of CrPc prohibiting gathering of more than five persons in order to prevent further escalation of the situation.