Internet off to choke rumours

TT, Calcutta, July 5: Internet services in four police station areas in North 24-Parganas have been switched off to prevent the spread of rumours.

An official clarified that some areas near the four zones might have felt the spill-over effect. Problems faced by some users in Rajarhat might have been because of a technical snag and not related to the ban, he added.

A senior police officer said that the state administration had switched off Internet services in four police station areas - Basirhat, Baduria, Swarupnagar and Deganga.

"These are the most affected areas and we decided to ban use of Internet services to prevent any misuse of social media," he said. A decision on resuming the services would be taken later, he added.

Although the officer mentioned four police station areas, some residents of Madhyamgram in Barasat that do not come under the four police station areas said they could not access Internet services since Tuesday midnight.

A district official said he had heard of rumours that Internet services were not available in parts of Rajarhat, adding that any problem could be related to some other technical snag. "The commissionerate areas in Bidhannagar and Barrackpore are not affected because of the ban," he added.

The violence-affected areas of North 24-Parganas were largely peaceful today but sporadic incidents were reported in the Basirhat sub-division.

Last evening, a section of residents of Habibpur, Moilakhola and Moitrapara left their homes and took shelter at their relatives' houses.

Bombs were hurled this afternoon in areas close to Indo-Bangladesh border. Central forces are present there.

Train services in the Sealdah-Hasnabad section were affected because of blockades on the rail tracks at several points.