Manipur cuts internet services in 5 districts as violent protests erupt after arrest of Meitei radical outfit leader

Manipur cuts internet services in 5 districts as violent protests erupt after arrest of Meitei radical outfit leader
Imphal: The Manipur Government on Saturday suspended Internet services, including mobile data, in five valley districts after violent protests in Imphal East and Imphal West districts following the reported arrest of a Meitei radical outfit 'Arambai Tenggol' leader, news agency IANS quoted officials as saying. The five affected districts are Imphal West, Imphal East, Thoubal, Kakching, and Bishnupur.
'In view of the prevailing law and order situation in the State of Manipur especially in Imphal West, Imphal East, Thoubal, Kakching & Bishnupur districts districts of Manipur, there is apprehension that some anti-social elements might use social media extensively for transmission serious of images, hate speech and hate video messages inciting the passions of the public which might have repercussions for the law and order situation in the State of Manipur, 'Commissioner-cum-Secretary (Home) N Ashok Kumar said in an order.
'There is an imminent danger of loss of life and /or damage to public/private property, and wide spread disturbances to public tranquillity and communal harmony, as a result of inflammatory material and false rumours, which might be transmitted/circulated to the public through social media/ messaging services on mobile services, SMS services and dongle services,' it added.
The order states that Internet and mobile data services, including VSAT and VPN, were temporarily suspended for five days in five districts of Manipur (Imphal West, Imphal East, Thoubal, Kakching, and Bishnupur), starting at midnight on Saturday.
Internet and mobile data service suspensions will not apply to individuals granted exemptions by the state government. The emergency order, issued without prior notice to affected parties, warns of legal consequences for anyone violating its terms.
Protests broke out in some areas of Imphal on Saturday evening following the reported arrest of an Arambai Tenggol leader.
'To thwart the design and activities of anti-national and anti-social elements and to maintain peace and communal harmony and to prevent any loss of life or danger to public/private property, by it has become necessary to take adequate measures to maintain law and order in public interest, as Whats stopping the spread of disinformation and false rumours, through various social media platform such WHATS App, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc, on various electronic equipment like tablet, computer, demonstrators, mobile phone etc. and sending bulk SMS, for facilitating and/or mobilization of mobs of agitators and arson/vandalism which can cause loss of life and/or damage to public/private property by indulging inand other types of violent activities,' the order added.
'Therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred under Rule 2 of Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules, 2017, having satisfied that the above situation is likely to cause serious disturbances to the peaceful co-existence and maintenance of public order, do hereby order suspension/curbing of internet and mobile data services including VSAT and VPN Bishnupur services in the territorial jurisdiction of Imphal West, Imphal East, Thoubal, Kakching & districts of the State of Manipur for 5(five) days with effect from 11:45 P.M. of 07-06- 2025 except for those cases whereby State Government exempts and allows for whitelisting,' it added.
(With inputs from agencies)

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Hindustan Times

30 minutes ago

• Hindustan Times

Meta employees were ‘betrayed, horrified' by Mark Zuckerberg's MAGA makeover: Report

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's growing closeness with the Trump administration and his appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast left his employees and coworkers horrified and feeling betrayed, a report by the Financial Times said. On the podcast, Zuckerberg compared MMA training to workplace dynamics(Facebook/Mark Zuckerberg) Forty-five anonymous people who know or have worked with Zuckerberg told the news outlet that his apparent transformation into "MAGA Mark," as some at the company have begun calling him, has been a radical makeover. "We are, they say, witnessing a Revenge of the Nerds-style midlife crisis. For Zuckerberg to so theatrically align himself with the Maga movement and the "manosphere", a constellation of anti-woke, alpha male influencers, seemed like a total break from his image as a supporter of social justice. In interviews, current and former staff used language such as "grieving", "horror" and "betrayal" to describe how they felt," the report said. Appearing on the Joe Rogan podcast, Zuckerberg made controversial comments, such as calling corporate America "culturally neutered" and calling for more "masculine energy" in workplaces. 'He saw Elon Musk was popular' The comments triggered a wave of internal backlash at Meta, with a few executives even raising the issue at a company meeting. However, the Meta boss reportedly dismissed the concerns. "He basically said: 'If you don't like it, tough s**t'," one Meta staffer told Financial Times. Zuckerberg's appearance and tone have changed along with his tone. Shearling coats and gold chains have replaced the plain grey T-shirts and hoodies. The buzz cut has been swapped with a ginger mullet. On the podcast, Zuckerberg compared MMA training to workplace dynamics, saying it's better to channel aggression constructively than suppress it. "In a lot of the corporate world, I think there's this bias where you think that aggression or intensity is inherently bad. But it's not. I actually think it's useful. You want to be able to channel that energy," he said. Some staffers believe Mark Zuckerberg grew frustrated that Elon Musk was widely seen as the bold, visionary innovator, while he wasn't given the same recognition. "He saw that Elon Musk was popular among the tech bros. There was a push to make him cool. The core of the Social Network movie is true — he just wants people to like him," an insider said, in the report.

The Hindu

2 hours ago

• The Hindu

Kayalode suicide: five booked on complaint by victim's friend

The police have registered a case against five persons based on a complaint filed by Rahees, a friend of Razeena, the young woman who died by suicide at Kayalode here. Mubashir, Faisal, Rafnaz, Suneer, and Zakaria have been named accused in the case which involves charges of unlawful assembly and assault. Mr. Rahees, who appeared at the Pinarayi police station on Saturday, alleged that the accused had confronted Razeena and assaulted her while she was talking to him inside a car. According to the FIR, they dragged him out, beat him up, threatened him with the release of photographs and seized his three mobile phones. He also stated that one of the accused took him on a scooter to an isolated location and assaulted him again. Family's claim denied The police had earlier arrested three of the five for abetment to suicide, based on a note left by Razeena, which reportedly cited mental distress due to public humiliation. Mr. Rahees denied the family's claim that he had exploited Razeena financially and told the police that he had met her three years ago through Instagram. A detailed statement was recorded by a police team led by the Thalassery ASP. CPI(M) charge Meanwhile, the incident has taken a political turn, with Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] district secretary K.K Ragesh launching a scathing attack on the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI). He accused the party of orchestrating the 'moral policing' that led to the young woman's death. 'What happened in Kayalode was a Taliban-style moral policing. They punished the girl and her friend and gave it wide publicity on social media to shame her,' Mr. Ragesh said. He also criticised the SDPI's claims that Rahees was a CPI(M) member, calling the tactic 'Goebbelsian propaganda.' Mr. Ragesh alleged that the SDPI had 'killed her through humiliation' and held both the SDPI and the Congress responsible, saying the UDF had allowed religious fundamentalists to grow under its fold. 'The Congress is silent and now Razeena is being humiliated again by using her own family,' he added.

Business Standard

2 hours ago

• Business Standard

A woman tried to call her mom in Iran; a robotic voice answered the phone

When Ellie, a British-Iranian living in the United Kingdom, tried to call her mother in Tehran, a robotic female voice answered instead. 'Alo? Alo?' the voice said, then asked in English: 'Who is calling?' A few seconds passed. 'I can't heard you,' the voice continued, its English imperfect. 'Who you want to speak with? I'm Alyssia. Do you remember me? I think I don't know who are you.' Ellie, 44, is one of nine Iranians living abroad — including in the UK and US — who said they have gotten strange, robotic voices when they attempted to call their loved ones in Iran since Israel launched airstrikes on the country a week ago. They told their stories to The Associated Press on the condition they remain anonymous or that only their first names or initials be used out of fear of endangering their families. It remains unclear who is behind the operation, though four of the experts believed it was likely to be the Iranian government while the fifth saw Israel as more likely. The messages are deeply eerie and disconcerting for Iranians in the diaspora struggling to contact their families as Israel's offensive targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites pounds Tehran and other cities. Iran has retaliated with hundreds of missiles and drones, and the government has imposed a widespread internet blackout it says is to protect the country. That has blocked average Iranians from getting information from the outside world, and their relatives from being able to reach them. 'I don't know why they're doing this,' said Ellie, whose mother is diabetic, low on insulin and trapped on the outskirts of Tehran. She wants her mother to evacuate the city but cannot communicate that to her. Some of the messages are bizarre Most of the voices speak in English, though at least one spoke Farsi. If the caller tries to talk to it, the voice just continues with its message. A 30-year-old women living in New York, who heard the same message Ellie did, called it 'psychological warfare.' 'Calling your mom and expecting to hear her voice and hearing an AI voice is one of the most scary things I've ever experienced,' she said. 'I can feel it in my body.' And the messages can be bizarre. One woman living in the UK desperately called her mom and instead got a voice offering platitudes. 'Thank you for taking the time to listen,' it said, in a recording that she shared with the AP. 'Today, I'd like to share some thoughts with you and share a few things that might resonate in our daily lives. Life is full of unexpected surprises, and these surprises can sometimes bring joy while at other times they challenge us.' Not all Iranians abroad encounter the robotic voice. Some said when they try to call family, the phone just rings and rings. It's not clear who is behind this — or what the goal is Colin Crowell, a former vice president for Twitter's global policy, said it appeared that Iranian phone companies were diverting the calls to a default message system that does not allow calls to be completed. Amir Rashidi, an Iranian cybersecurity expert based in the US, agreed and said the recordings appeared to be a government measure to thwart hackers, though there was no hard evidence. He said that in the first two days of Israel's campaign, mass voice and text messages were sent to Iranian phones urging the public to gear up for 'emergency conditions.' They aimed to spread panic — similar to mass calls that government opponents made into Iran during the war with Iraq in the 1980s. The voice messages trying to calm people 'fit the pattern of the Iranian government and how in the past it handled emergency situations,' said Rashidi, the director of Texas-based Miaan, a group that reports on digital rights in the Middle East. Mobile phones and landlines ultimately are overseen by Iran's Ministry of Information and Communications Technology. But the country's intelligence services have long been believed to be monitoring conversations. 'It would be hard for anybody else to hack. Of course, it is possible it is Israeli. But I don't think they have an incentive to do this,' said Mehdi Yahyanejad, a tech entrepreneur and internet freedom activist. Marwa Fatafta, Berlin-based policy and advocacy director for digital rights group Access Now, suggested it could be 'a form of psychological warfare by the Israelis.' She said it fits a past pattern by Israel of using extensive direct messaging to Lebanese and Palestinians during campaigns in Gaza and against Hezbollah. The messages, she said, appear aimed at 'tormenting' already anxious Iranians abroad. Trying new ways to contact relatives Ellie is one of a lucky few who found a way to reach relatives since the blackout. She knows someone who lives on the Iran-Turkey border and has two phones — one with a Turkish SIM card and one with an Iranian SIM. He calls Ellie's mother with the Iranian phone — since people inside the country are still able to call one another — and presses it to the Turkish phone, where Ellie's on the line. The two are able to speak. 'The last time we spoke to her, we told her about the AI voice that is answering all her calls,' said Ellie. 'She was shocked. She said her phone hasn't rung at all.' Elon Musk said he has activated his satellite internet provider Starlink in Iran, where a small number of people are believed to have the system, even though it is illegal. Authorities are urging the public to turn in neighbors with the devices as part of an ongoing spy hunt. Others have illegal satellite dishes, granting them access to international news. The messages are making relatives feel helpless M, a woman in the UK, has been trying to reach her mother-in-law, who is immobile and lives in Tehran's northeast, which has been pummeled by Israeli bombardment throughout the week. When she last spoke to her family in Iran, they were mulling whether she should evacuate from the city. Then the blackout was imposed, and they lost contact. Since then she has heard through a relative that the woman was in the ICU with respiratory problems. When she calls, she gets the same bizarre message as the woman in the UK, a lengthy mantra. 'Close your eyes and picture yourself in a place that brings you peace and happiness,' it says. 'Maybe you are walking through a serene forest, listening to the rustle of leaves and birds chirping. Or you're by the seashore, hearing the calming sound of waves crashing on the sand.' The only feeling the message does instill in her, she said, is 'helplessness.'