Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir have intensified a major crackdown on the use of unauthorized Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), acting under prohibitory orders issued under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
Police across several districts have carried out device verifications and initiated legal or preventive proceedings, with around 150 people booked so far for violating the VPN ban.
In Pulwama district, 95 individuals were identified as using unauthorized VPNs. Following technical scrutiny, preventive security proceedings were initiated against 43 people, most of them aged between 18 and 40, for non-compliance with orders issued by the District Magistrate.
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In Sopore area of Baramulla district, authorities identified 23 individuals, with legal proceedings initiated against 15 of them. In Shopian, a district-wide drive conducted on January 1, 2026 led to the identification of 15 individuals. Security proceedings were initiated against 10 adults, while five minors were counseled in the presence of their guardians.
In Kulgam, nine individuals were identified, with security proceedings launched against six. In Anantnag, legal action was taken against five individuals for violating prohibitory orders. Elsewhere, two individuals were booked in Doda district, while one man was arrested in Rajouri for possessing a banned VPN application.
The VPN ban has been enforced across all ten districts of the Kashmir Valley, Srinagar, Budgam, Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam, Anantnag, Ganderbal, Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara, as well as several districts in the Jammu region, including Doda, Rajouri, Poonch and Kathua. Most of the orders are temporary and are effective for about two months from their issuance in late December 2025, unless amended or withdrawn.
Authorities have justified the action by citing “unprecedented and suspicious high usage” of VPNs, which they say could be exploited for “unlawful and anti-national activities”, spreading inflammatory content, and bypassing lawful monitoring mechanisms. As part of the enforcement drive, security forces are conducting random checks of mobile phones in public places and at checkpoints to detect unauthorized VPN applications.
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