Mobile, internet services suspended in Delhi

New Delhi, December 19, 2019 (PPI-OT): In India, mobile-phone services including internet, voice calls, and messaging services were suspended in Delhi amid heavy protests against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019 and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) which have taken India by storm. The voice calls, data and messaging services have been affected in most areas of the Indian capital.

“The affected areas are Walled City areas of north and central districts, Mandi House, Seelampur, Jaffarbad, Mustafabad, Jamia Nagar and Shaeen Bagh, Bawana,” a top official of a telecom operator told media on the condition of anonymity. “We have received instructions from government authorities to suspend mobile services in these localities.”

Airtel has informed its customers that as per the government directive, data services are now restricted in parts of Delhi. The CAA accords citizenship rights to non-Muslims from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, and has been described by its experts as unconstitutional and discriminatory against Muslims.

The Bharatiya Janata Party governments in Utter Pradesh and in Bengaluru and other parts of Kartakna state announced the imposition of restrictions under the Section 144 to disallow protests against the CAA and NRC. According to reports, Section 144 was also imposed in parts of Delhi and in Bihar and while hundreds of the political leaders, activists and students were arrested in several Indian states. Protests have engulfed Delhi, parts of the north eastern states, especially Assam, and other parts in India where students and others have been agitating against CAA and NRC.

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