Curfew in Jammu continues

Jammu, Feb 16 (IANS) Curfew in Jammu continued without any relaxation for the second consecutive day on Saturday, even as authorities said the situation was returning to normal.

"Curfew will continue till further orders. We will take a call later in the day after assessing the overall law and order situation," said an official.

The police said the situation was under control and returning to normal without any untoward incident occurring anywhere in the city on Saturday.

The police appealed people to not pay heed to rumours spread by anti-social elements in an attempt to fan passions through fake social media posts.

"Curfew is still on in the Jammu district. The situation is normal. Don't believe rumours being spread by miscreants," said the Inspector General of police (IGP), Jammu zone.

The police also warned of stern action against rumour mongers using social media to stoke passions.

Curfew was imposed in the city on Friday after miscreants torched some vehicles and damaged several others carrying number plates of Kashmir Valley in protest against the Pulwama terror attack.

The army was called to assist the civil administration to restore order in the city on Friday.

Suspension of mobile internet services, which began on Friday, continued on Saturday as well. The speed of fixed-line broadband connections has also been lowered to prevent any form of amplification of the situation given that anti-social elements could upload inflammatory pictures and comments on social media to disturb peace in the city.

Curfew, initially imposed in some areas, was later extended to the entire city as tension mounted in the wake of violence against a particular section of the society.

The authorities also met important personalities from different communities on Friday to seek their help in bringing back normalcy to the city.