BBC Punjabi has been banned by Twitter in India following a crackdown in the state to hunt Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh.
Twitter said that the official account of the BBC Punjabi news channel has been withhled in India in response to a legal demand. However, the details of the demand is not known.
Over two dozen of journalists from Punjab have been banned by the microblogging website in India following the crackdown to hunt Amritpal Singh.
The Twitter handles belonging to Kamaldeep Singh Brar, a reporter for Indian Express, Gagandeep Singh, the bureau chief for Pro Punjab TV and Sandeep Singh, an independent journalist were all restricted, along with those of Canadian politician Jagmeet Singh and Simranjeet Singh Mann, the MP for SAD’s Sangrur.
India was called upon by several human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International and Sikh diaspora collectives, to cease its targeting of journalists during its crackdown in Punjab. These groups also expressed worries about the extensive detentions carried out under draconian laws and the suspension of internet services within the region.
Internet and SMS services were suspended by the AAP government on Saturday. The suspension was initially extended till Monday noon, and again till Tuesday.
