Under the IT Rules 2021, the Indian Ministry of Information & Broadcasting issued directions on 12 December 2022 for the immediate blocking of the website, 2and related apps of the #Pakistan-based OTT Platform Vidly TV in India.
This action followed after Vidly TV recently released a web series titled “Sevak: The Confessions”, which was supposed to target the sovereignty and integrity of India and even the defence of India along with hurting India’s friendly relations with foreign States. The web series also attempted to disrupt the public order in India. Three episodes of the web series have been released to date.
It was suspected that the web series was sponsored by Pakistan’s secret agency ISI because the first episode of the series was released on 26th November, on the anniversary of the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai.
The web series portrayed an anti-India narrative on sensitive historical events like Operation Blue Star, the demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya, the killing of controversial Christian missionary named Graham Staines, Malegaon blasts, Samjhauta Express blasts, inter-state river water dispute related to Sutlej Yamuna Link canal, etc.
The web series portrayed many other anti-India situations as well, forcing the Indian I&B ministry to eventually ban the show, as well as the TV channel airing it.
26/11 terror attack
The 26/11/2008 Mumbai attacks were a series of terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist terrorist organisation from Pakistan, carried out a terror attack lasting four days across the posh South Mumbai. The attacks began on 26/11 and lasted until 29/11 in 2008. A total of 175 people died, including nine attackers, and more than 300 were wounded during the attack.
