The Cable Television Network (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2011 allows local authorities to take punitive action
The local government authorities of three districts across the country have seized the equipments of cable operators for illegally beaming Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's Peace TV.
Surprisingly, two of the cable operators were from Kurnool and Nandyal cities of Andhra Pradesh, while the third was from Aurangabad of Maharashtra. Their offices were also sealed after the equipment were seized.
As per census records, both Nandyal and Aurangabad are minority-dense cities, with a Muslim population of 32.63% and 30.78% respectively.
The development comes days after the Information & Broadcasting (I&B) ministry issued an advisory to states, asking them to act against cable operators broadcasting unauthorised channels. The advisory came in the aftermath of the terror attack in Bangladesh when it was discovered that the terrorists were following Naik' and his sermons.
Bangladesh’s Information & Broadcasting minister Hasanul Haq Inu had also said that India should monitor Naik and his speeches. The union home ministry and Mumbai police were also monitoring Naik’s speeches to check if they were promoting hatred.
Peace TV had approached the I&B ministry in 2008, seeking a license for the channel to be beamed in India. It was, however, denied a license after allegedly failed to submit relevant documents then and twice again in the next few years. The Dubai-based channel is one of the 24 unauthorised foreign TV channels which are transmitted illegally by cable operators in the country, 11 of which are from Pakistan.
Under the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2011, if a cable operator is found violating the programme code, the district magistrates and the local Superintendent of Police are empowered to act upon this violation and take punitive action against them, by seizing their equipment and sealing their offices.
The code states that content in a channel should not contain an attack on religions or communities or visuals or words contemptuous of religious groups or which promote communal attitudes or contain anything affecting the integrity of the nation.
Naik, the founder of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, is banned in Britain and Canada for his alleged hate speeches against other religions.
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 "Local authorities seize equipment of cable operators in Andhra, Maharashtra for illegally beaming Peace TV")
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