Lagatar24 Desk
Punjab, March 20: The Punjab government extended the suspension of mobile internet, SMS and dongle services till March 21 noon even as the hunt `Waris Punjab De’ chief Amritpal Singh continued for the third day.
All mobile internet services, all SMS services (except banking & mobile recharge) & all dongle services provided on mobile networks, except the voice call, in the territorial jurisdiction of Punjab suspended till March 21 (12:00 hours) in the interest of public safety: Dept of… pic.twitter.com/BMNM5uOvDi
— ANI (@ANI) March 20, 2023
“All mobile internet services, all SMS services (except banking and mobile recharge) and all dongle services provided on mobile networks, except the voice call, in the territorial jurisdiction of Punjab suspended till March 21 in the interest of public safety,” the department of Home Affairs and Justice, Government of Punjab informed in a statement on Monday.
The statement by the Punjab government stated that certain sections in the society are likely to threaten public order, and they widely use social media platforms for mobilising their ‘anti-national activities.’
“It has been brought to my notice that certain sections of society are holding protests at several places in the State and are likely to threaten public order by incitement to violence,” the statement read.
“It has further been brought to my notice that these sections of society widely use social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp etc. and also Short Message Service (SMS) for spreading of inflammatory material and false rumours, to provoke mobilisation of mobs of agitators and demonstrators, mobilise their manpower and resources for their anti-national activities”, the statement further read.
Notably, the suspension of internet and SMS services in Punjab was brought in place on Saturday and was again extended on Sunday, in the wake of the situation.
