#BharatBandh: Internet suspended, Army on standby in Punjab

NewsBharati    02-Apr-2018
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Chandigarh, April 2: With the Dalit organisations protesting against making amends to the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the state administration has suspended internet services and has shut all educational institutions. The Army has also been requested to remain on stand-by mode.

Chief Minister of Punjab, Amarinder Singh appealed to the people of the state to maintain law and order in the larger public interest. The state government is also likely to suspend the services of public transport as well. 

A spokesperson of the Punjab government said mobile Internet services in the state were suspended at 5 pm yesterday and will continue till 11 pm today in a bid to check rumour mongering on social media.

Meanwhile, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has postponed all Class 10 and 12 examinations scheduled to be held in Punjab today.

In a statement, CBSE said, the decision to postpone the examinations has been taken at the request of the state government in view of a bandh call given by some organisations. The new date of the exams will be announced soon.

The Bharat Bandh is already having an impact in Bihar and Odisha, where protesters have blocked railway tracks.

The Centre government will file a review petition in the Supreme Court today over its recent ruling on the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said this in a tweet.

The Supreme Court on March 20 diluted the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, in a bid to protect honest public servants discharging bona fide duties from being blackmailed with false cases under the Act.