VPN use banned in many dists for security reasons
The use of Virtual Private Network (VPN) has been banned in many districts of Jammu and Kashmir for at least two months due to security reasons. According to officials, misuse of VPNs may impede lawful monitoring and pose risks to safety.
“VPN services have the potential to be exploited for unlawful and anti-national activities... and coordination of activities prejudicial to the maintenance of public order and tranquility, and national security,” reads the order. In Doda, two youths were detained recently for using VPNs on their mobiles. Police initiated action against 15 persons in Sopore and five in Anantnag for VPN use.
Hangul count rises to 323 at Tral centre
In good news for nature and wildlife lovers, the population of endangered Kashmir Stag, popularly known as Hangul, has increased from 127 in 2008 to 323 in 2025 at a breeding centre in Tral of Pulwama district. The rise reflects the success of conservation efforts by the wildlife protection department.
Hangul has been listed as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and is the only surviving member of the red deer group in the subcontinent. The species is also protected under Schedule I of the J&K Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1978, and the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Teacher faces suspension over prayer platform
A government schoolteacher in Rajouri is facing suspension after allegedly ordering construction of a platform atop the school building in a sensitive area for offering prayers. The issue escalated after a mob of over 200 people gathered inside the school premises to protest against the construction of the platform.
The chief education officer (CEO) during his visit to the school found that Munnawar Hussain, an Arabic lecturer of the higher secondary school at Chingus in Rajouri, had ordered construction of the platform in the absence of the principal. The CEO has placed the lecturer under suspension subject to confirmation from the school education director, Jammu. The director may order an inquiry into the matter.