These orders are being issued with reference to the scheduled ceremony in Ayodhya on August 5.

In the backdrop of the bhoomi pujan ceremony for the Ram temple, scheduled to be held in Ayodhya on Wednesday, the Pune Rural Police has issued prohibitory orders against sending or posting messages which can potentially lead to communal disharmony or a law and order situation.

Superintendent of Police for Pune Rural jurisdiction, Sandeep Patil, said that orders under the provisions of the Maharashtra Police Act have been issued by sub-divisional police officers for their respective jurisdictions in the district.

One such order, issued by Sub-Divisional Police Officer for Baramati, Narayan Shirgaonkar, read, “Persons or groups of persons should refrain from sending or posting any message, video, audio on any phone messenger or social media platform, which would potentially lead to communal, religious or social disharmony. People should also refrain for sending, spreading, forwarding any fake, new or unverified information on these platforms. These orders are being issued with reference to the scheduled ceremony in Ayodhya on August 5.”

The order further stated, “Administrators of social media or messenger application groups should direct the members accordingly and change the settings to make sure that only administrators can send messages. If such messages are relayed on the group platforms, the administrators will also be held responsible along with those who have sent the message.”

Across various jurisdictions in Maharashtra, prohibitory notices were issued to many persons including those affiliated to political parties, after receiving information that these persons will carry out celebratory activities on Wednesday when the ceremony in Ayodhya will be held. In these notices, these persons have been asked to refrain from undertaking any activities that would lead to a law and order situation.