"We are facing a lot of difficulties. We are not able to do any sort of online payment, bank transaction. There's a lot of weddings in the area around this time, so people also have to get their wedding cards printed, but because of no internet, nothing is getting executed," said a shopkeeper from Karauli district in Rajasthan. This district which saw communal violence on April 2 has since had no internet, and a curfew has also been imposed. While there is no government order for the internet shutdown that is publicly available, an official in Rajasthan Government's Home Department confirmed to MediaNama that the shutdown was still in effect. But the official declined to provide a copy of the internet shutdown order citing that the matter was still "sensitive". Ram Lal Goyal, the proprietor of Goyal General Stores in Karauli, claimed that he had received a text message from authorities stating that the internet shutdown will be extended till April 22. However, additional district magistrate Parasram Meena denied the claim but revealed that the internet shutdown will be in effect till April 7. He informed that further decisions regarding the matter will be taken by Rajendra Shekhawat, the district collector of Karauli. Shekhawat did not respond to MediaNama's calls. In its judgement, the Supreme Court had held that access to the internet enjoyed constitutional protection as it was a medium to exercise the right to freedom of speech and expression as well as the right to practice a trade…
