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| Govt issues red alert over Facebook mischief in Valley | | Demonstrators blame authorities for being 'permissive' to blasphemous pages | | Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR, Nov 17: Sensing serious threat to over year-long tranquility, authorities have issued red alert against any attempts to create communal unrest in Kashmir Valley. This time around an outrageously blasphemous Facebook page, coupled with some recent religious conversions, is leading to a palpable mass mobilization in the heavily Muslim-dominated population. Low intensity demonstrations at several places today alerted the authorities who are now frantically trying to track down the administrators of the controversial page on the world's largest social networking domain.
Shops remained shut in protest at Chadoura in Budgam district for some time, thin groups of demonstrators burned rubber-tyres on Srinagar-Chadoura Road, classes of Veterinary Science at SKUAST-Kashmir remained suspended and students shouted slogans at Press Enclave in Srinagar. Participants of the low-intensity demonstrations said that their protest was directed on the "Government's permissiveness" to operation of blasphemous pages on Facebook. They complained that one of such pages had crossed all limits as "extremely offending" sketches and slogans had been posted to hurt religious sentiments of the population in Kashmir.
Even as there were no clashes between the demonstrators and Police, youngsters in the groups said that they were "surprised" over the way authorities were permitting operations of these highly objectionable and illegal pages. They pointed out that entire Internet traffic in this country was being regulated either by Government's own telecommunication companies like BSNL or the registered private telecommunication companies. Besides, there was regular surveillance on all Internet operations by Department of Telecommunication, Ministry of Home Affairs of Government of India, Central and state intelligence agencies and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
"If Police and other state authorities claim to track operators of anti-national and separatist websites and Facebook pages, why don't they who who the hell is running these anti-Muslim pages on Facebook?" asked a number of demonstrators.
Authoritative sources said that Police were kept on high alert as today's Facebook mischief had potential of causing rupture to the peace and tranquility that had of late completed one calendar year in the Valley. However, there was not a direct and serious provocation to prompt Police to use force.
SSP Srinagar, Syed Ashiq Hussain Bukhari, told Early Times that Police took cognizance of the Facebook mischief late last night and today it got the "highly objectionable page" blocked with the help of union Ministry of Home Affairs and union Ministry of Communication in New Delhi. He confirmed that cyber surveillance had been immediately increased to ensure that nobody got an opportunity to foment trouble and mistrust among the local population, particularly the youth.
SSP Srinagar revealed that cyber crime sleuths of J&K Police were on the red alert and some arrests were likely in the next 24 hours. Asked if Police had got any clue with regard to administrators of the offending Facebook page, Mr Bukhari said that In the last two years Police had gathered enough knowledge and understanding about certain "anti-national groups" like Aalav and Kal Kharab and efforts were underway to investigate if any of these "exposed mischief mongers" was attempting to shatter the Valley's peace and tranquility.
CONTD……
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