In its first major crackdown on digital media, the Jammu and Kashmir administration on Tuesday banned operations of seven local news portals operating in Ramban district for “peddling fake news and maligning the image of government’’.
The banned news portals include United News Urdu run by one Latief Raza of Sangaldan; VD News (Charanjit Bali, Ukhral); News Verse India (Mubashir Nazir, Ukhral); Current News of India (Zulfqar Bhat, Sangaldan); News Bureau of India (Sajad Ramyal, Maligam Pogal); Today News Line (Parvez Bhat, Rajgarh); and CHRT News, Sangaldan (Credentials not known).
The ban order was issued by Ramban District Magistrate Mussarat Islam, exercising powers vested in him under Section 144 of the CrPC, pointing out that “any person associated with the above fake news portals shall be immediately booked under the extant rules governing the subject, if found operating in the district and peddling fake news’’.
The DM has also asked the Ramban SSP to implement the ban order in letter and spirit and the District Information Officer to “maintain close vigil on the operations of any more fake news portals which shall be also restrained/banned after subsequent rounds of scrutiny’’.
