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The nationwide agitation against the amended Citizenship Act and the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC) has claimed over 20 lives, with Uttar Pradesh being the worst affected state with 15 deaths so far.
Fresh cases of stone-pelting took place in Kanpur and Rampur even as the Uttar Pradesh Police chief maintained that the police did not open fire during the agitation and rather suggested that the deaths were caused due to cross-firing between protesters, news agency PTI reported.
Bihar witnessed large-scale vandalism and disruption of rail and road traffic as supporters of the bandh, called by RJD against the amended Citizenship Act, gathered at bus stands, railway tracks and other vantage points in all districts of the state since the crack of dawn, carrying bamboo sticks and party flags. In order to enforce the day-long bandh, they squatted on railway tracks, disrupting train movement, and blocked bus terminuses at various places.
The protesters also smashed windshields of taxis and three-wheelers and damaged cycle-rickshaws that plied on the roads in defiance of the call for the shutdown at the towns of Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur and outskirts of Patna. Movement of at least seven trains was affected for periods ranging from 30 minutes to over an hour at various stations, the East Central Railway, headquartered at Hajipur in the state, said in a statement, PTI reported.
Meanwhile, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav took out a large procession from the party office in Bir Chand Patel Marg to Dak Bungalow crossing, throwing traffic on the busy Fraser Road and Bailey Road out of gear.
Following his arrest on Saturday morning, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad was sent in 14-day judicial custody by a Delhi court in connection with the Darya ganj violence case.
Azad, who led the protest at Jama Masjid on Friday, sought bail on the ground that there is no evidence that he instigated the crowd present at the mosque to move to Delhi Gate where the protesters turned violent. His bail was opposed by the Delhi Police on the ground that he may threaten witnesses and his judicial remand is necessary for the sake of law and order.
The court also sent 15 people arrested in connection with the violence in Darya Ganj in two days’ judicial custody.
Curfew was relaxed in Mangaluru on Saturday with the situation in the city, which was rocked by violent protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act leaving two dead in police firing, peaceful. The situation in Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka, where prohibitory orders were in place, was also peaceful with no major protests taking place. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who visited Mangaluru to assess the situation on Saturday, said an inquiry will be conducted into the violence that rocked the coastal city, as he announced relaxation in the curfew clamped.
Six protestors, including CPI Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala Binoy Viswam and some party activists, who voiced against the citizenship law in Mangaluru were detained, news agency PTI quoted the police as saying. Defying curfew placed in Mangaluru, protestors raised ‘Save India, Save Democracy’ slogans and criticised the Yediyurappa government for its actions against those protesting against the new law.
The police restricted the entry of former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to the city. The notice bars Siddaramaiah from flying into the city from Bengaluru, Hubballi, Mysuru, and Goa airports. The prohibitory orders in the city were lifted from 6 am, however, the curfew will remain in place within the city commissionerate till Sunday midnight. Mobile internet services that were suspended are expected to be restored by Saturday night.
In Assam, peaceful rallies were held and the curfew, which was imposed in Dibrugarh following violent protests against the Act, was relaxed for 16 hours since 6 am on Saturday. After nine days of suspension, mobile internet services in Assam were restored on Friday.
Mobile internet services have also resumed in Meghalaya, eight days after they were snapped in the wake of violent protests, PTI reported quoting officials. The ban on mobile internet and mass messaging services, imposed on December 12, was lifted at around 7 pm on Friday due to improvement in law and order situation, a senior home department official told PTI.
Curfew imposed in Meghalaya’s Shillong was relaxed for 16 hours from 5 am on Saturday and no untoward incident was reported in these areas in the past 24 hours, PTI quoted East Khasi Hills District Magistrate M W Nongbri as saying.
The situation in West Bengal was peaceful with no incident of violence over the amended Citizenship Act reported so far on Saturday, PTI reported quoting the police as saying. The police stepped up vigil and beefed up security arrangements in various parts of the state in order to avoid any untoward incident. The state witnessed widespread violence from December 13 to 17. More than 600 people have been arrested so far for their alleged involvement in arson and violence in the state, PTI quoted the police as saying.
Thousands of college students hit the streets of Kolkata on Saturday and marched towards state BJP headquarters demanding the rollback of the controversial legislation. The protest was organised by youth Congress activists this afternoon. Students from Jadavpur University, Calcutta University, Aliah University, Presidency University and the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, organised a march from Shahid Minar Maidan to Mahjati Sadan in central Kolkata.
In Kolkata, a scuffle broke out between the police and the agitators when a section of the protesters tried to break through the police barricades and head towards the party office, however, the situation was brought under control within minutes by the authorities.
The Student Council of the Puducherry University Saturday, in a letter to the varsity’s alumni, stated they will not receive their degrees from President Ram Nath Kovind, who is scheduled to arrive on their Convocation Day. “These are testing times, but with every difficult day comes the promise of getting a chance to look whatever we thought was most important to us just because and put up a fight for each other, for abetter country, a country our freedom fighter fought for, our constitutional values and for what we believe to be right,” the letter to the Students and Alumni read.
Senior Congress leaders including Ramesh Chennithala, Mullappally Ramachandran, Shashi Tharoor, Benny Behanan and M M Hassan participated in anti-CAA protests held in all district headquarters of Kerala.
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