Mobile internet and broadband services in several districts of India’s West Bengal will be suspended until 16 March to prevent unlawful activities.
In an official statement, West Bengal’s Additional Secretary B.P. Gopalika said that intelligence reports had been received that internet transmissions and Voice over Internet Telephony might be used for unlawful activities in certain areas over the next few days.
The suspension of internet access started from Monday, but there are no restrictions on phone calls or text messages.
Meanwhile, Internet services will not be suspended on 10 March, when the election results for five states - Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Punjab and Uttarakhand, will be announced.
The decision is also being viewed as a preventive measure to avoid cheating in board exams starting from Monday, when millions of students will be taking the exams.
Recently, thousands of students protested against the state governments in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, alleging irregularities in exams. The protests also turned violent when a few students torched buses, and the police had to resort to using truncheons against crowds.