BHUBANESWAR: The State government shut down internet service in Kendrapara town for 48 hours from 3 pm on Wednesday over protests on an objectionable post against Prophet Mohammad in social media.
The action came in the wake of a recommendation from Kendrapara district administration following tension in the town over the post. Hundreds of people from the community met collector Muralidhar Mallick and demanded appropriate action to prevent a ‘Bhadrak’ like situation.
The collector, in turn, wrote to the Home Department seeking an immediate ban on use of social media for a few days in the town.
“A group of people met me over a post on Prophet Mohammad in a WhatsApp group. They demanded immediate measures to stop it from spreading further and action against the person who shared it,” said the collector.
On April 6, communal tension erupted in Bhadrak town over derogatory remarks on Hindu deities by a few youths from the minority community on a Facebook post.
While curfew was imposed and internet service shut down in the town for 48 hours after members from the communities set ablaze more than 100 shops and business establishments, the town is still under night curfew as peace is yet to be fully restored in the region.
Police have so far arrested more than 150 persons including a councilor of Bhadrak municipality for flaring up communal tension.