As anti-CAA protests gained momentum on Thursday, the Delhi Police wrote to the cell phone operators including Airtel, Jio, MTNL, BSNL, and Vodafone Idea to stop all communication services in many parts of the national capital. The areas where the cellular services have been asked to stop include north and central Delhi. Mandi House, Jamia Nagar, Shaheen bagh, Seelampur, Jafrabad and Bawana are other areas where mobile services have been asked to clamp down.
According to the police, these areas are the specific zones from where the crowd can swell and reach the epicentre of the protest.
The police has imposed Section 144 in the central Delhi area and as a precautionary measure, entry and exit gates of at least 19 Delhi Metro stations have also been closed.
Here are the LIVE updates:
3: 00 pm: We are bound to follow govt's order: Airtel
"We are bound by the order of the government. We are following their order," says Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder Chairman, Bharti Airtel, on internet services halted in some parts of Delhi.
2:30 pm: Communication services in affected areas of Delhi restored: Airtel sources
Telecom operator Airtel's mobile internet services that were suspended in parts of Delhi have been restored, news agency PTI quoted a company source as saying. The Airtel source said that the services in specific locations, that were disrupted earlier in the day, are back.
1:00 pm: The Congress party has criticised the decision to shut down the internet services in the National Capital.
It issued a statement, saying: "It is the democratic right of every citizen to protest peacefully against the government. Imposing Section144 and internet shutdowns are draconian measures to muzzle citizens by a government that is terrified of hearing what Indians have to say. The BJP should be ashamed."
12: 00 pm: Government authorities have asked telecommunication companies to suspend internet, voice and call services in several areas of Delhi.
In a response to one of the users, Bharti Airtel has confirmed that voice, internet and SMS services were disrupted as per directives from the government. Bharti Airtel put out a Twitter message: "As per instructions from government authorities, voice, Internet and SMS services are currently suspended in areas."
Mobile Internet and SMS have been shut in these areas of ACentral Delhi area, Central district, Walled city area, Mandi House, Selampur, Zafarabad, Shaeenbagh, Jamia Nagar, Mustafabad as per instructions, said an operator.
Department of Telecom sources said the they would not share details on this as it is sensitive information to law and order.
Suspension of Airtel’s services started after 10 AM and the telecom representative said that they can't provide any clarity on the duration of services suspension.
"...as per instructions from government authorities, Voice, internet and SMS services are currently suspended in your location. Once the suspension orders are lifted, our services will be fully up and running. We're sorry about the inconvenience. Thanks for your support!" - this tweet was received by Danish Khan, who had tweeted to Airtel from northeast Delhi.
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