India's Kashmir goes dark as phone lines, internet suspended in widening clampdown

A foreign tourist boards a passenger vehicle as he along with others leave Srinagar August 4, 2019.

Phone and internet services were suspended in Indian Kashmir on Monday and state leaders placed under house arrest, deepening fears that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government plans to weaken the special rights of residents in the disputed region.

The clampdown began in the early hours of Monday when Indian authorities said they were imposing restrictions on public movement and shutting all educational institutions in the main Srinagar city.