26 May 2017 12:00 am
NEW DELHI AFP May25, 2017 - Authorities in north India have blocked mobile internet services, arrested 24 people and suspended senior officials after clashes between castes that have left two dead and at least 20 injured. Police said they had blocked access to mobile messaging services to stop “outsiders” from instigating the violence between Dalits and members of a higher caste community in Uttar Pradesh state’s Saharanpur district, which lies just 120 miles (190 kilometres) from New Delhi.
“We ordered the service providers late Wednesday to suspend internet services as outsiders... were instigating locals with WhatsApp and Facebook posts,” senior police officer Bablu Kumar told AFP.