Mobile internet services were cut off in Jammu and Kashmir again on Tuesday, the death anniversary of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front founder Maqbool Bhat, ANI reported. The outfit had reportedly called for a shutdown in the region on Tuesday.

The services were suspended on Sunday as well from morning to evening due to a bandh call by separatist groups on the death anniversary of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. Guru was hanged on February 9, 2013, while Bhat was hanged on February 11, 1984.

The Centre had suspended internet services in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh on August 5, just before abrogating the special status of the former state under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. Mobile 2G internet services were restored in a limited way for both prepaid and postpaid connections only on January 25, after over five-and-a-half months. However, this access was for just 301 “whitelisted” websites.

This followed a series of steps taken by the central government to gradually lift the lockdown imposed in the region since August. Postpaid mobile phone services – but not internet – were restored across all networks in the Kashmir Valley on October 14. The Ladakh administration restored 4G mobile internet connectivity in Kargil on December 27, after a gap of 145 days. On the midnight of January 1, SMS services were restored. The administration restored broadband services in institutions dealing with “essential services” on January 15. Three days later, voice calls and SMS facilities were restored on prepaid mobile networks.