India intensifies crackdown on VPN users in IIOJK
Police target 1,100 people through house raids and on-road inspections
Srinagar: Indian authorities have intensified digital surveillance and repression in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, identifying around 1,100 residents for allegedly using Virtual Private Network (VPN) services.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the crackdown follows a blanket ban imposed last month by the occupation administration on the use of VPN services across the Kashmir Valley. District authorities issued orders suspending unauthorised VPN usage for two months, after which police launched widespread verification drives to trace alleged violators.
Police admitted that around 1,100 individuals have been identified in different districts during house-to-house checks and on-road inspections, where mobile phones are reportedly being checked by personnel, drawing public concern and criticism over privacy violations.
In central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, police said at least 11 persons were “bound down” under preventive laws after being found using VPN services. Similar actions have been reported from other districts, with authorities warning of strict legal consequences for non-compliance.
Observers say the ban and subsequent policing measures form part of India’s broader policy of digital censorship in the occupied territory, aimed at restricting access to information, silencing dissent, and curbing documentation of human rights abuses. Since August 5, 2019, internet shutdowns, social media restrictions, and surveillance measures have become routine in IIOJK.
Meanwhile, the District Magistrate of Srinagar has ordered the suspension of all VPN services in the district for two months. The order empowers police to strictly enforce the ban, except for authorised VPN use by government departments.
Legal experts and rights activists have expressed alarm over the move, saying the suspension of VPN services further shrinks the already limited digital space available to Kashmiris. They argue that the measure amounts to collective punishment and violates internationally recognised rights to privacy, freedom of expression, and access to information.
Critics warn that continued digital repression will further alienate the population and deepen resentment in the territory, already described by observers as one of the most heavily surveilled regions in the world.
