Citizenship Act protests: Over 3,000 arrested in Uttar Pradesh; internet shut

Lucknow: At least 3,000 people across Uttar Pradesh, including 350 in Lucknow, have been arrested since Thursday night in connection with the protests against the recently amended citizenship law, police officials said on Friday. Security has also been beefed up across the state, as police have registered 19 FIRs against unknown people, of which 17 were 'named'.

Meanwhile, 3,037 Facebook posts, 1,786 Twitter posts and 38 Youtube videos (scenes of violence) were deleted since Thursday evening across the state, police added.

This has been done after Thursday's protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) turned violent in Lucknow and Sambhal and led to large scale destruction of public and private property. Internet services have been shut down in 15 districts, including the capital, whereas red alerts were issued in Aligarh in view of Friday prayers.

Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Avanish Awasthi said that the shutdown would continue till December 21 midnight. All private telecom operators have also shut services after the government order.

According to a senior police official, it was found late on Thursday night that the violent protests on Thursday were being live-streamed on social media which aggravated the situation.

"Apart from the internet, SMS and messenger services have also been blocked. We are trying to inform our customers about this," said a private telecom manager in Lucknow.

The shutdown is mainly going to impact the news industry, which is largely dependent on internet for news transmission.