INDIA

A total of 122 Twitter accounts were 'withheld' at the request of the Indian government amid a crackdown on pro-Khalistan outfit Waris Punjab De and its chief Amritpal Singh in Punjab, The Quint reported. The report says that the government requested Twitter to take action against these accounts on Sunday, 19 March, according to the tech company's disclosure to the Lumen Database. Several tweets were also flagged by the government on the same day. Many of these accounts belong to journalists reporting the situation from the ground in Punjab, while others belong to Sikhs in the diaspora. Pertinently, the Punjab Police are on the lookout for Amritpal Singh, after cases of alleged hate speech were filed against him and his supporters last week. Amritpal had led a massive protest a...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday unveiled the 6G vision document of the country and said initiatives around 6G within six months of the 5G rollout show India’s confidence. He said from being a mere consumer of telecom technology, India is now moving fast to become a big exporter of that technology. “Within six months of the 5G rollout, today we are talking about 6G. This shows the confidence of India. Today we have brought the vision document to the fore. This will become a big base for the rollout of 6G,” Modi said. The vision document released by Department of Telecom states that while 5G technology promises a speed of 40-1,100 Mbps with the potential to hit maximum speed of 10,000 Mbps, 6G will offer ultra-low latency with speeds up to 1 terabit per second –which is 1,00...

At least six people have been arrested and 100 FIRs registered after Modi Hatao Desh Bachao posters surfaced in parts of India's capital city, New Delhi. The Delhi Police has registered 44 FIRs and arrested four persons, including two printing press owners, after posters including some seeking the ouster of Prime Minister Narendra Modi (‘Modi hatao, desh bachao’), were found pasted on walls and poles in several areas of the Capital, reported The Indian Express reported earlier on Wednesday. At least 2,000 posters were removed and 2,000 more were seized after a van was intercepted. Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order of Northern Zone) Dependra Pathak told The Indian Express that police intercepted a van in I P Estate when it was coming from the AAP headquarters on DDU Mar...

As the crackdown to arrest Amritpal Singh and the subsequent internet ban in Punjab entered its third day on Monday, people in Punjab are facing the brunt of the partial communication snap down and the restrictions. Speaking to The Kashmiriyat, Sukhdeep, who runs an online business and is a resident of Mohali said that the internet ban has cost him tremendously during the last three days. "My business is suffering massively and there is barely any connection with the outside world. The Government has made us so used to the internet and our lives are heavily reliant upon the internet now. I do not understand the purpose of stopping the internet when sections of mainstream media have falsely reported it multiple times that Amritpal Singh has been arrested," he said. Sukhdeep said that ...

Since November of last year, at least 50 ‘Hindu Jan Aakrosh Morcha’ rallies have been conducted in practically all of Maharashtra’s 36 districts, reported Indian Express. Each of these events has followed a set pattern: a brief march through the heart of the city, amid a sea of saffron flags and caps, followed by a short rally, where speakers on a makeshift dais attack minorities, invoke “love jihad”, “land jihad”, “forced conversions”, and call for the economic boycott of the Muslim community. According to the report, the BJP distances itself from these rallies, saying they are by the Sakal Hindu Samaj, an umbrella body of Hindutva and Sangh organisations, but almost all of these events have had the presence of party leaders, including the local BJP MLA and MP. The speeches, however...

The police in Karnataka’s Shivamogga have questioned a Muslim youth who recited ‘Adhaan’ during a protest at the Deputy Commissioner’s office two days ago. A Muslim organization had staged a protest at the office of the Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate on March 17 against former minister and BJP legislator K.S. Eshwarappa over his remarks about ‘Adhaan’, or the Islamic call for prayers. During the protest, a youth had recited ‘Adhaan’ and the video of the same had surfaced on social media. The protesters had reportedly threatened to recite ‘Adhaan’ in front of the Vidhana Soudha as well. The police have registered a case against the youth who has been summoned and questioned about the incident, confirmed Shivamogga Superintendent of Police, G.K. Mithun Kumar. The SP said th...

Amid the massive crackdown to arrest Amritpal Singh, the Twitter account of Simranjit Singh Mann has been withheld in India. Earlier in the day, Simranjit Singh Mann who is also the member parliament from Punjab's Sangrur constituency had issued a video stating that there were apprehensions that Amritpal had been arrested and he may be killed in a staged encounter. The Punjab Police, as per local news reports, has arrested 112 people so far, which includes 27 supporters of Amirtpal Singh who were trying to stage a protest in Ludhiana demanding his release. During the massive crackdown more than hundred persons have been detained so far which includes a research scholar, Makhan Singh. More than 21 supporters of Amritpal Singh have been arrested while trying to stage protest in Ludh...

As the Police continued their flag marches in various areas of Punjab on Sunday afternoon, a pin-drop silence is being observed in the state. Though there are reports of protests from a few places, people have mostly restricted themselves to their homes even as internet and SMS services remained snapped for the second day. On Saturday, Punjab Police launched a massive cordon and search operation to arrest the head of Waris Punjab De, Amritpal Singh, however, he managed to evade arrest. Later in the day, several reports emerged stating that Amritpal had been arrested. "Amritpal Singh has been booked under Arms Act. The crackdown will continue till his arrest," Amritsar SSP said. During the cordon and search operation at least eighty seven including a senior leader of SAD A, an ...

BJP national executive member Sunil Jakhar Sunday termed the Punjab government’s crackdown on Waris Punjab De during G20 meetings in Amritsar as “belated, ill-timed, unplanned, unsuccessful and botched” and said it “ended up doing what the ISI had not been able to achieve for its separatist agenda”, Indian Express reported. Jakhar told the newspaper that the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had “ended up doing what the ISI (Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence) had not been able to achieve for its separatist agenda through many of their minions; whether it is people sitting in Canada, America, Germany or England”. Amirtpal’s supporters stormed the Ajnala police station near Amritsar on February 23 to free one of his associates from custody. The former Punjab Pr...

Waris Pujab De leader Amritpal Singh has been declared a fugitive and his vehicles have been seized, Punjab Police said. Police also claimed that a massive cordon and search operation has been launched to arrest Amrirpal Singh who was last seen speeding away on a motorcycle last evening in Jalandhar. As per news reports, Police have arrested 78 persons from Punjab, who are members of 'Waris Punjab De,' while several others have been detained for questioning, officials said. A research scholar Makhan Singh who is pursuing his Ph.D from Punjabi University Patiala has also been picked by Punjab Police from his home. https://twitter.com/PunYaab/status/1637295872382779393 The father of Amritpal Singh has appeared on the media and said the Police searched their house for three-fou...