Bihar govt temporarily bans 23 social networking apps in Saran

New Delhi: Government of Bihar has temporarily banned 23 social networking and messaging applications till 11 pm on February 8 in the Saran district. The government says this step has been taken to “maintain peace & tranquillity” in the district. These social media apps include YouTube (upload), Twitter, Whatsapp, Facebook, Skype and others.

Government of Bihar temporarily bans 23 social networking and messaging applications till 2300hours of 8th February in Saran district to “maintain peace & tranquility” pic.twitter.com/GqETuqpihx

— ANI (@ANI) February 6, 2023

The decision came after a youth was lynched in Manjhi in Bihar’s Chhapra district on February 5, which eventually caused chaos in the Manjhi police station area of Saran district. Even section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) was imposed by the administration in Saran.

The notice cites that there is objectionable content being circulated on the internet and is also leading to the spreading of rumours. Social networking sites that can be used for spreading mass messages have been suspended.

A youth was allegedly beaten to death in Manjhi, which led to a mob setting the house and poultry farm of a village headman on fire and there was also some ruckus in the Manjhi police station area. Heavy police were deployed in the area after the incident was reported.

According to a statement by the police, the villagers claim that the village headman Vijay Yadav and his henchmen led an assault on three youths of the village, which led to two being injured while one died.

Even a video of the incident went viral on the internet. While there was a lot of chaos in the village and the online space, the state government decided to temporarily ban certain social networking intermediaries.