GUWAHATI: Army was called in at Guwahati, Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts on Wednesday even as police clamped indefinite curfew in Guwahati after protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill turned violent. Two columns of the Army were deployed in Guwahati, where they staged flag marches. Meanwhile, troops of the Assam Rifles — a paramilitary force commanded by Army officials — were pressed into service in Tripura, which also witnessed widespread protests against CAB.
Mobile internet services have been suspended till Thursday 7 pm in 10 Assam districts — Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Kamrup (Metro) and Kamrup.
Internet services have already been suspended in Tripura till Thursday 2 pm. On Wednesday, protesters had blocked almost every road in Guwahati and Assam capital Dispur by placing burning discarded tyres, leaving officegoers stranded.
Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal was stranded at the Guwahati airport for a long time due to protests.
The protestors burnt vehicles, pelted stones at the security personnel and broke security barricades several times in Guwahati. Police had to open fire in Dispur after water cannons, baton-charge and tear gas failed to rein protests in.
The protesters also marched to the house of Union Minister Rameshwar Teli at Duliajan in Dibrugarh and set fire to a portion of the house. The police opened fire and some protesters were injured. The officer who led the police team also sustained a bullet injury in the incident.
Student protesters
Most of the protesters who took to the streets in Guwahati on Wednesday were students of the Cotton University