“India will bat first, score over 260, 3 wickets fall within the first 15 overs, pak will cruise to 100, then loose 2 quick wickets, at 150 they will be 5 down and crumble and lose by a margin of over 20 runs…”

Thanks to the Mumbai Police, Mumbaikars may not see these kinds of chain messages (which were in circulation during India's historic semi-final clash with Pakistan), as India takes on Sri Lanka on Saturday for the much-sought ICC world cup trophy.

However, the two-day ban on group messaging (SMS) by the Mumbai Police, has drawn much ire among service providers and users. The Government should look at using content filters to restrict flow of offensive messages instead of going in for a blanket city-wide ban.

“The ban seems to be an over-reaction…this is like penalising 99 per cent of the population instead of the one per cent trouble makers,” said Mr Beerud Sheth, CEO of SMS Gupshup, a company which processes 2 billion messages every month.

“The beauty of the online medium is that few abusive opinions can be drowned if there are larger sane opinions on the same issue,” he said, adding that the impact on the company will be marginal.

This is the second instance of a blanket ban on group messaging in India. In September last year, there was one week ban on group messaging as the country awaited the verdict of the Ramjanambhoomi-Babri Masjid title suits by Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court.

In this case, the precautionary measures are being put in place to avoid any eventuality if India were to go down to Sri Lanka in the finals.

“I believed that such a blanket ban is a farce as people can communicate with each other using Blackberry messenger service, emails, Twitters, chats and Facebook. Placing a ban will not work,” an official with another bulk messaging company said on the condition of anonymity.

One of the alternatives suggested by bulk messaging companies is to employ content filters that can control the flow of specific kind of information.

“We already have checks in place to avoid propagation of objectionable content like pornography. If the Government wants, we could extend that to other areas,” added Mr Sheth.

However, Mr Sandeep Pimple, CEO of Upass — a user of bulk SMS services for its collection management solutions — is in favour of the Mumbai Police's move. His theory is that the Government must take steps to prevent betting and spreading of rumours, especially since there are fears terrorists could target the grand finale.

In fact, when last heard, the Indian team are favourites with bookies and the odds on clinching the coveted trophy is said to be 0.67 paise, while the ongoing rate for Sri Lanka is Rs 1.40. If India wins, every Re 1 placed on the Indian team will generate Rs 1.67. On the other hand, a Sri Lanka win would mean a gain of Rs 2.40.

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