According to reports, the National Highway 34, which connects the north and south Bengal, was blocked in Murshidabad that borders Bangladesh. Several other roads in the district were also blocked.
AGENCIES / KOLKATA
Violent protests against the New Citizenship Act spread to more areas in West Bengal even as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appealed to the people of the state to maintain peace and use democratic means of agitations.
On Saturday morning, people in the minority-dominated districts of rural Howrah, Murshidabad, Birbhum, parts of Burdwan and North Bengal hit the streets, raising slogans against the Modi government. The raging protesters also reportedly attacked local BJP workers and leaders.
As incidents of fresh violence were reported on Kona Expressway and NH6 in Howrah, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar said he was “distressed and pained at events” unfolding in the state.
Five empty trains were set on fire at the Lalgola railway station in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district today as protesters continued to block road and disrupt rail services in different parts of the state over the amended Citizenship Act, CAA.
Hundreds of people also blocked roads in and around the Sankrail railway station in Howrah this morning and set a portion of a railway station complex on fire. They also set a few shops on fire, a news agency reported, quoting police sources. “Later in the afternoon, they entered the station complex and set the ticket counter on fire. When RPF and railway personnel tried to stop them, they were beaten up,” a Railway Protection Force official was quoted as saying.
Protesters squatted on the railway tracks at Poradanga, Jangipur and Farakka stations in Murshidabad district and Bauria and Nalpur stations disrupting rail services in the South Eastern Railway in Howrah district, news agency IANS reported. Fifteen buses, including three state buses, were set on fire by the protestors after they forced out the passengers.
The National Highway 34, which connects north and south Bengal, was blocked in Murshidabad that borders Bangladesh. Several other roads in the district were also blocked, news agency PTI reported.
The protests continue despite both Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar appealing for peace. “Don’t block road and rail. Harassment of ordinary public will not be tolerated. Those creating trouble and taking law into their hands will not be spared. Those setting fire to buses, pelting trains and damaging public property will face action,” Ms Banerjee said in a fresh appeal to protesters today. Ms Banerjee is one of the most vocal critics of the Citizenship Act and has warned that she will not allow its implementation in her state “under any circumstances”.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which intends to make it easier for non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan to obtain Indian citizenship, has been accused by rights groups and opposition parties of being discriminatory and violating the constitutional right to equality.
CAA has seen violent protests in the Northeast, particularly Assam where two people were killed in police firing after thousands descended on the streets in defiance of a curfew. Situation in the Northeastern states, however, largely remained peaceful with restrictions imposed in sensitive areas being briefly relaxed.