KOLKATA/GUWAHATI: Bengal continued to face the heat of amended Citizenship Act on Saturday as violent protesters set five trains ablaze in Murshidabad district and torched at least four buses of the state transport department on Kona Expressway in Howrah, on the outskirts of Kolkata.
Three trains at Krishnapur and two at Lalgola railway stations were set ablaze during Saturday's protest. The cabin and ticket booking counter at Sankrail railway station in Howrah were also set on fire.
Demonstrations and roadblocks were staged in different districts, including Birbhum, Malda, North 24-Parganas, Nadia and Murshidabad, across the state on Saturday. Hours after the reports of violent protests, the CM said those who vandalised the properties of the state government and the central government would not be spared.
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“I appeal to all to maintain peace. Do not block the roads and the railway tracks. Those who are organising violent protests will not be spared,’’ she said.
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar reacted to Saturday’s violent protests and tweeted, “Distressed and pained at events unfolding in the State. Chief Minister as per oath has to ‘bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India.”
During Saturday’s violent protests, a toll plaza on NH 34 at Suti in Murshidabad was set on fire and protestors went on a rampage at Sujnipara railway station in the same district.
Lull in Assam
After nearly two days of violence across Assam, Saturday witnessed a lull in the aggression of the protesters. Curfew was relaxed from 9 am to 4 pm in Guwahati and its adjoining areas, and was also lifted from 8 am to 2 pm in Dibrugarh and Sonitpur districts and from 6 am to 12 noon in Jorhat district. Guwahati and Dibrugarh were the worst-hit in the violence. ULFA pro-talks faction leader Jiten Dutta was arrested from his Digboi residence for allegedly instigating violence.“Many anti-social elements were involved in the violence in Guwahati. We are examining the videos to identify them,” said Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, Assam DGP.
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Assam limping back
Nine flights to and from Guwahati were cancelled on Saturday.
Long queues at petrol pumps in Guwahati, as they reopened after three days.
A union of government employees announced a stir on December 18.
Mobile internet services continued to remain suspended.
Locals thronged to buy essentials and stockpile them.
Four columns of the army are still deployed in Guwahati.
AASU calls for ‘satyagraha’ for three days, beginning December 16.
One burnt to death
An oil tanker was set ablaze in Assam’s Sonitpur district on Friday night, killing its driver, even as protests continued on Saturday