A day after back-to-back total shutdown in Assam to protest against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019, fresh protests erupted in the state including Guwahati on December 11th, 2019.

To tackle the situation, the police had to fire rubber bullets and resort to lathi-charge and use water cannons on the protestors in Dibrugarh and Kamrup (Metro) districts.

In the midst of anti-CAB agitations, a wedding got cancelled in Dibrugarh. The groom who hails from Jorhat district couldn’t make it to the wedding venue due to the burning of tyres, road blockade and protests by the anti-Bill supporters. The bride after waiting for several hours returned home disappointed and disheartened.

The Dibrugarh district administration has called QRT (Quick Response Team) to control the situation in various areas. As informed by the Deputy Commissioner, no curfew has been imposed in any area of the district so far.

A reporter of a local TV channel, Ratul Gohain and another girl injured in a protest incident at Bokul are undergoing treatment. The Deputy Commissioner has also requested all to refrain from spreading rumours.

The Army has appealed for peace and issued warning to the protestors to withdraw their agitations against the Bill in Dibrugarh. A warning flag which read – Please disperse peacefully or else you will be fired upon – was spotted as protests escalate in the district.

Across the state, agitators burnt tyres and logs on the roads and railway tracks to stop vehicular movements.

The Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha on December 11th, 2019 by Union Home Minister Amit Shah amid strong protest by the opposition leaders.

As per information, ten companies of the Central Reserve Police Force have been moved from Jammu and Kashmir to Assam as protests intensified in the state. The Army is also on standby in Assam’s Bongaigaon, Dibrugarh, Jorhat where violent protests between people and police broke out.

The Bill aims to give Indian Citizenship to the non-Muslim refugees who have faced religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The agitators said that the Bill is against the spirit of secularism, violation of Article 14 of the Constitution and nullify the historic 1985 Assam Accord.

Photo: transferwise.com (L) and Time8 (R)