The Manipur government will now book and prosecute anybody circulating videos and pictures “depicting violent activities” through various social media platforms as such acts “may aggravate” the law-and-order situation in the strife-torn state.

“Anyone found violating the above instructions/ orders shall be booked and prosecuted under relevant provision of the law of the land for the time being in force without any exception,” the order passed by home commissioner T. Ranjit Singh said.

The order said the decision to “restrain act of spreading such videos/ images/ pictures as a positive step towards bringing normalcy” was taken after a “thorough examination of the matter”.

The order added: “Anyone misusing technology for inciting violence/ hatred shall also be dealt with appropriately under relevant provisions of Information Technology Act & Rules and IPC.... General public is also advised to beware of such persons and activities and report to the Superintendents of Police of their districts about any such information that they may have.”

The trigger for the order seems to be the widespread sustained protests following the surfacing of a video on July 19 that showed two Kuki-Zo women paraded naked in the Thoubal district.