Guwahati: The Assam government has prohibited all literature, documents, materials and digital content linked to fundamentalist organisations, including Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Ansarullah Bangla Team and other banned or affiliated groups.
It has also imposed a similar ban on websites, social media pages, encrypted channels, online groups and other digital platforms that disseminate extremist or “jihadi” content.
The ban has been imposed under Section 98 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, through a notification issued by the Political Department on orders of the governor on Wednesday.
The notification was issued following a proposal from the Assistant Inspector General of Police and input from the judicial department.
It stated that JMB, ABT, Ansar-Al-Islam/pro-AQIS and other affiliated groups have been proscribed by the central government as terrorist organisations for engaging in activities “prejudicial to the sovereignty, integrity and security of India.”
According to the notification, intelligence inputs, cyber-patrolling reports and investigations by Assam Police and the Special Task Force indicated the “continued circulation, possession, dissemination and digital transmission of radical/jihadi literature” linked to these groups.
Such literature and materials include content that “glorifies violent jihad, promotes radicalisation, provides ideological indoctrination, and facilitates recruitment, operational guidance or incitement against the sovereignty of India, thereby posing a serious threat to public order, internal security and communal harmony.”
The notification noted that the publication, circulation, exhibition and possession of such materials violates multiple legal provisions and “perpetuates extremist ideology, making vulnerable sections of youth susceptible to radicalisation.”
Accordingly, the state government has banned the publication, sale, possession, storage and distribution—both physical and digital—of any radical or jihadi literature and materials linked to JMB, ABT and other similar groups, with immediate effect.
ALSO READ: Assam tribal bodies submit ‘interim objections, suggestions’ to ST status move for 6 communities
The notification added that the police, Special Branch, CID, district senior superintendents of police, cybercrime units, and all law enforcement agencies will ensure strict implementation of the order and take necessary legal action against any violators.
