
Section 144 imposed in Pune's Yavat village after tension erupts over social media post
The Deputy CM, Ajit Pawar, arrived at the site to meet the affected people, said that the situation was now under control and appealed for calm.
Speaking to the media persons, Ajit Pawar said, "After today's incident, Section 144 has been imposed in the area for 48 hours. The situation is under control, and there is no need to panic." He urged all citizens, regardless of caste or religion, to maintain peace and harmony and not fall for rumours.
The deputy CM revealed that the tension began after someone posted a WhatsApp status referencing a recent incident in Madhya Pradesh. This status led to tension and minor vandalism in the area.
"A few days ago, an incident occurred, followed by speeches from various representatives. Everything had calmed down afterwards. Recently, an incident took place in Madhya Pradesh. In connection with that, someone posted a WhatsApp status, which caused a bit of unrest," he added.
He reassured citizens by stating that senior police officers and a team from the SRPF were already deployed in the area to ensure law and order.
"I also want to clarify that the person who posted that status has no direct connection to this place. He had come here from Nanded several years ago. Due to that post, some tension arose, and there was some vandalism. But the police are doing their job and conducting investigations and panchanamas," Pawar added.
"The police are working to maintain peace, and I appeal to the villagers to cooperate. The entire situation is under control. I urge everyone to trust the police and not believe in rumors. There is absolutely no atmosphere of fear. The situation is completely under control," he later said.
Earlier, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis appealed to the public to maintain peace and cooperation after tensions flared up.
A heavy deployment of Police personnel was made in the area. Police said that the incident occurred in the village a week ago, so the situation was already tense.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
How Russia reins in the internet by blocking websites and isolating it from the rest of the world
By Dasha Litvinova TALLINN, Estonia - YouTube videos that won't load. A visit to a popular independent media website that produces only a blank page. Cellphone internet connections that are down for hours or days. Going online in Russia can be frustrating, complicated and even dangerous. It's not a network glitch but a deliberate, multipronged and long-term effort by authorities to bring the internet under the Kremlin 's full control. Authorities adopted restrictive laws and banned websites and platforms that won't comply. Technology has been perfected to monitor and manipulate online traffic. While it's still possible to circumvent restrictions by using virtual private network apps, those are routinely blocked, too. Authorities further restricted internet access this summer with widespread shutdowns of cellphone internet connections and adopting a law punishing users for searching for content they deem illicit. They also are threatening to go after the popular WhatsApp platform while rolling out a new "national" messenger that's widely expected to be heavily monitored. President Vladimir Putin urged the government to "stifle" foreign internet services and ordered officials to assemble a list of platforms from "unfriendly" states that should be restricted. Experts and rights advocates told The Associated Press that the scale and effectiveness of the restrictions are alarming. Authorities seem more adept at it now, compared with previous, largely futile efforts to restrict online activities, and they're edging closer to isolating the internet in Russia. Human Rights Watch researcher Anastasiia Kruope describes Moscow's approach to reining in the internet as "death by a thousand cuts." "Bit by bit, you're trying to come to a point where everything is controlled." Censorship after 2011-12 protests Kremlin efforts to control what Russians do, read or say online dates to 2011-12, when the internet was used to challenge authority. Independent media outlets bloomed, and anti-government demonstrations that were coordinated online erupted after disputed parliamentary elections and Putin's decision to run again for president. Russia began adopting regulations tightening internet controls. Some blocked websites; others required providers to store call records and messages, sharing it with security services if needed, and install equipment allowing authorities to control and cut off traffic. Companies like Google or Facebook were pressured to store user data on Russian servers, to no avail, and plans were announced for a "sovereign internet" that could be cut off from the rest of the world. Russia's popular Facebook-like social media platform VK, founded by Pavel Durov long before he launched the Telegram messenger, came under the control of Kremlin-friendly companies. Russia tried to block Telegram between 2018-20 but failed. Prosecutions for social media posts and comments became common, showing that authorities were closely watching the online space. Still, experts had dismissed Kremlin efforts to rein in the internet as futile, arguing Russia was far from building something akin to China's "Great Firewall," which Beijing uses to block foreign websites. Ukraine invasion triggers crackdown After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the government blocked major social media like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as Signal and a few other messaging apps. VPNs also were targeted, making it harder to reach restricted websites. YouTube access was disrupted last summer in what experts called deliberate throttling by authorities. The Kremlin blamed YouTube owner Google for not maintaining its hardware in Russia. The platform has been wildly popular in Russia, both for entertainment and for voices critical of the Kremlin, like the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Cloudflare, an internet infrastructure provider, said in June that websites using its services were being throttled in Russia. Independent news site Mediazona reported that several other popular Western hosting providers also are being inhibited. Cyber lawyer Sarkis Darbinyan, founder of Russian internet freedom group Roskomsvoboda, said authorities have been trying to push businesses to migrate to Russian hosting providers that can be controlled. He estimates about half of all Russian websites are powered by foreign hosting and infrastructure providers, many offering better quality and price than domestic equivalents. A "huge number" of global websites and platforms use those providers, he said, so cutting them off means those websites "automatically become inaccessible" in Russia too. Another concerning trend is the consolidation of Russia's internet providers and companies that manage IP addresses, according to a July 30 Human Rights Watch report. Last year, authorities raised the cost of obtaining an internet provider license from 7,500 rubles (about $90) to 1 million rubles (over $12,300), and state data shows that more than half of all IP addresses in Russia are managed by seven large companies, with Rostelecom, Russia's state telephone and internet giant, accounting for 25%. The Kremlin is striving "to control the internet space in Russia, and to censor things, to manipulate the traffic," said HRW's Kruope. Criminalizing 'extremist' searches A new Russian law criminalized online searches for broadly defined "extremist" materials. That could include LGBTQ+ content, opposition groups, some songs by performers critical of the Kremlin - and Navalny's memoir, which was designated as extremist last week. Right advocates say it's a step toward punishing consumers - not just providers - like in Belarus, where people are routinely fined or jailed for reading or following certain independent media outlets. Stanislav Seleznev, cyber security expert and lawyer with the Net Freedom rights group, doesn't expect ubiquitous prosecutions, since tracking individual online searches in a country of 146 million remains a tall order. But even a limited number of cases could scare many from restricted content, he said. Another major step could be blocking WhatsApp, which monitoring service Mediascope said had over 97 million monthly users in April. WhatsApp "should prepare to leave the Russian market," said lawmaker Anton Gorelkin, and a new "national" messenger, MAX, developed by social media company VK, would take its place. Telegram, another popular messenger, probably won't be restricted, he said. MAX, promoted as a one-stop shop for messaging, online government services, making payments and more, was rolled out for beta tests but has yet to attract a wide following. Over 2 million people registered by July, the Tass news agency reported. Its terms and conditions say it will share user data with authorities upon request, and a new law stipulates its preinstallation in all smartphones sold in Russia. State institutions, officials and businesses are actively encouraged to move communications and blogs to MAX. Anastasia Zhyrmont of the Access Now internet freedom group said both Telegram and WhatsApp were disrupted in Russia in July in what could be a test of how potential blockages would affect internet infrastructure. It wouldn't be uncommon. In recent years, authorities regularly tested cutting off the internet from the rest of the world, sometimes resulting in outages in some regions. Darbinyan believes the only way to make people use MAX is to "shut down, stifle" every Western alternative. "But again, habits ... do not change in a year or two. And these habits acquired over decades, when the internet was fast and free," he said. Government media and internet regulator Roskomnadzor uses more sophisticated methods, analyzing all web traffic and identifying what it can block or choke off, Darbinyan said. It's been helped by "years of perfecting the technology, years of taking over and understanding the architecture of the internet and the players," as well as Western sanctions and companies leaving the Russian market since 2022, said Kruope of Human Rights Watch. Russia is "not there yet" in isolating its internet from the rest of the world, Darbinyan said, but Kremlin efforts are "bringing it closer."


Economic Times
2 hours ago
- Economic Times
FIR lodged against Indore Youth Cong head over WhatsApp status on 'conversion'
Indore: A case has been registered against the Youth Congress' Indore city chief for sharing a WhatsApp status allegedly promoting religious conversion, police said on Tuesday. Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) city president Saugat Mishra, in his police complaint, claimed Youth Congress local unit president Rameez Khan shared a picture on his WhatsApp status which showed two separate human hearts in black and white colours with the words 'Converts to Islam' written below them. The Youth Congress leader titled his status in English as 'Life with Allah', according to Mishra."Khan through his objectionable WhatsApp status gave the message that if a non-Muslim converts to Islam, his black heart will be cleansed by Allah's fazal (grace) and if a non-Muslim does not convert to Islam, his heart will remain black," the complainant alleged. Based on Mishra's complaint, a case was registered on Monday night against Khan under relevant provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch, Rajesh Dandotiya said. The complainant submitted some digital evidence to the police on the basis of which a detailed investigation was being done into the case, the official said.

The Wire
2 hours ago
- The Wire
'Nirmala Sitharaman Seemed Biased Against Me Since the Beginning': Former Finance Secretary
Political Economy Former Finance Secretary Subhash Garg talks candidly about the inner workings of the finance ministry and reveals the details of his troubled working relationship with the Union finance minister. Former Finance Secretary Subhash Garg talks candidly about the inner workings of the finance ministry and reveals details of his troubled working relationship with Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman as well as his dissenting views on critical policy matters which had a deep impact on the political economy. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.