BBC Film on India's PM Modi, 2002 Riots Draws Government Ire

NEW DELHI (AP) Days after India blocked a BBC documentary that examines Prime Minister Narendra Modis role during 2002 anti-Muslim riots and banned people from sharing it online, authorities on Wednesday were scrambling to halt screenings of the film in colleges and universities and restricting its clips on social media, a move that has been decried by critics as an assault on press freedom.

Jawaharlal Nehru University in the capital, New Delhi, cut off power and the internet on campus on Tuesday before the documentary was scheduled to be screened by a students union, saying it would disturb the peace on campus. The students nonetheless watched the documentary on their laptops and mobile phones after sharing it on messaging services like Telegram and WhatsApp.

The documentary has caused a storm at other Indian universities too.

Authorities at the University of Hyderabad, in Indias south, have begun a probe after a student group showed the banned documentary earlier this week. In the southern state of Kerala, workers from Modis Bharatiya Janata Party held demonstrations on Tuesday after some student groups affiliated with rival political parties defied the ban and screened the film.