Jammu and Kashmir Police Crack Down on VPN Use, File FIRs and Bind Down Dozens Across Districts

Srinagar: Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir have launched a crackdown against the Virtual Private Network (VPN) users in the Union Territory with at least two FIRs filed by police and dozens “bound down” under prohibitory orders.

The Jammu and Kashmir police said on Saturday (3 January) that two FIRs were filed while 11 suspects have been “bound down” in the Budgam district of central Kashmir for allegedly using the VPNs which were banned in parts of the Union Territory last month.

A spokesperson of police in Budgam district said that two FIRs were registered against “individuals with adverse terror-related backgrounds” in connection with the VPN ban.

The spokesperson said in a statement that the FIRs were filed following “systematic verification and monitoring” of internet activities from December 29, when the prohibitory order was issued in the district, to Saturday (2 January).

The order was imposed by the Budgam district magistrate under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

The statement didn’t specify the details of the two FIRs and whether any arrests have been made so far but it noted that 24 individuals were found to be using VPNs in the district and that these cases “underscore the security risks posed by (the) misuse of encrypted platforms”.

“Additionally, security proceedings were initiated against 11 individuals, aged between 18 and 40 years, for non-compliance with the prohibitory orders. They were bound down under sections 126/170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and later released after due warning,” the statement said.

Section 126 of the BNSS empowers a magistrate to extract a bond or bail bond from “any person” who is “likely to commit a breach of the peace or disturb the public tranquillity” while Section 170 empowers a police official to arrest any individual without a warrant to prevent the commission of a cognisable offence.

The Jammu and Kashmir administration imposed prohibitory orders against the use of VPNs in parts of the Union Territory under Section 163, which grants emergency powers to an executive magistrate to issue “urgent orders to prevent nuisance or danger”.

The ex-parte ban, which was initially imposed in the volatile Doda and Kishtwar districts of Chenab Valley, has been reportedly extended to other parts of the Union Territory by the administration citing “threat to national security” and apprehensions of “incitement to unrest”.

On Friday, police in south Kashmir’s Shopian district said that 15 smartphone users were found using VPNs since the ban on December 29. Of them, police have initiated “security proceedings” against 10 individuals who have been "bound down" for violating the prohibitory order.

In the adjoining Kulgam and Pulwama districts, more than 100 smartphone users were found to be using the VPNs, according to a police spokesperson on Friday. Of them, security proceedings have been initiated by police against 49 users though no FIR has been filed so far.

It was not immediately clear whether the police have taken any similar action in other districts of the Union Territory in which VPNs have been banned, including the summer capital Srinagar.

The administration had warned of legal action against VPN users, noting that “immediate preventive measures” under Section 163 of BNSS were necessitated to “safeguard data/information related to the sensitive content from potential cyber threats”.

“Such activities have the potential to be exploited for unlawful and anti-national purposes, including inciting unrest, disseminating inflammatory material and coordinating activities prejudicial to the maintenance of law and order and also security of the UT of J&K,” an order issued by the Shopian district magistrate on December 29 noted.

Earlier, Doda police booked two persons on the charges of using VPN applications “in violation of the district magistrate’s orders” on 27 December.

Although using VPN is not illegal per existing laws, the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology directed VPN providers on April 28, 2022 to perform a KYC (‘Know Your Customer’) on users and maintain a log for five years.

The order, which has been criticised for breach of privacy and “violation of individual liberty” by legal experts and rights activists, has forced many VPN service providers to shut their servers in India.