The administration in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar on Monday barred unregistered online news outlets and social media news handles from publishing or circulating news and current affairs content for two months, following a clash between two groups in the district on Sunday, The Indian Express reported.

A man was also detained for allegedly uploading a misleading video that police alleged was “trying to give it [the incident] a communal angle”, The Hindu reported.

The police said that the clash occurred on Sunday in the Padyarna area when members of one religious community were carrying wooden logs from a forest and one log slipped and fell near a madrassa.

This led to an altercation between two groups, which later escalated into people throwing stones, The Hindu quoted the police as saying.

“A few people sustained minor injuries,” the police added.

However, an unidentified resident told The Wire that the incident occurred when a young man attempted to place wooden logs near a mosque, leading to an argument after the imam objected.

“The youngster later returned to his area following which some members of the Hindu community arrived in the area and the two sides clashed,” the news outlet quoted the resident as saying.

A first information report was registered under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to endangering the life and safety of others and rioting, The Hindu reported.

Another FIR was also registered under Section 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita that penalises publishing false information with intent to cause public mischief against the man who uploaded a video of the incident on social media, claiming it was an attack on a religious place, The Wire reported.

On Monday, Kishtwar District Magistrate Pankaj Kumar Sharma issued an ex parte order directing compliance with the 2021 Information Technology Rules, The Indian Express reported.

The order barred unregistered online news portals and social media platforms from publishing news or current affairs content without following the statutory framework and came into effect immediately for a period of two months. Cyber cafe operators were also instructed to enforce identity verification norms and maintain proper user records, the newspaper reported.

To ensure implementation, the district information officer was directed to submit a verified list of registered and unregistered online news outlets and social media news handles operating in Kishtwar within a week, while the senior superintendent of police was tasked with enforcing the order.

The police asked the public “to exercise utmost caution and responsibility while using social media and other digital platforms”, The Hindu reported.

Meanwhile, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah said the Union government should intervene when he was asked a question about the reported “targeting of a mosque and a madrassa by stone pelters”.

“Evil exists and will do its work,” he said. “But India is a secular country, where the Constitution gives every religion the freedom to run its institutions. It is up to the Centre to guide the states to stop this.”