NEW DELHI, July 19: India began a clampdown on selected internet websites and blogs on Wednesday amid fears of growing censorship following the devastating Mumbai blasts on July 11.

In separate developments, TV channels reported two arrests in connection with the blasts; their names suggested they were Hindus.

NDTV’s Hindi channel briefly reported in the afternoon the arrest of one Nitin Mohan at the Delhi airport, but then quickly went quiet about it.

Unconfirmed reports said the alleged arrest may have been related to blasts some years ago in another city.

Perhaps even stranger was the arrest of a youth in Bhopal who is said to have admitted to sending false emails to a newspaper and a TV channel in which he had cooked up the story of an unheard of group called Lashkar-i-Qahar which he claimed had owned up its role in the Mumbai blasts.

United News of India said Sumit Tamrakar, possibly a Maharashtrian by his name, was arrested in connection with the email.

Prima facie, it appeared that the youth had sent the email to create sensation. The tone of the report suggested it was a case of juvenile delinquency.

“Sumit, who studied up to class XII before leaving his studies three years back, does not have a past criminal record,” the report pleaded.

On July 15 the same email mischief, if that is what it merely was, had caused chaos. A top Hindi channel had gone to town on the basis of the email, linking the Lashkar-i-Qahar with Lashkar-i-Taiba.

According to the TV channel, the email message was received on Saturday claiming that the outfit was associated with the Lashkar-i-Taiba. According to the report, the Lashkar-i-Qahar said 16 people had triggered seven blasts in local trains.

“The organisation said it was making their involvement public since all the 16 people involved in the operation were now safe,” the news channel had said.

If this was nerve-wracking for investigators, the government appeared to have found a ready solution by seeking to deter the use of internet.