In West Bengal protesters torched buses, railway stations and destroyed several public properties in Howrah, Murshidabad, Malda on Saturday amid reports of intensified protests spreading over several parts of the country.
National Highway 34, one of the arterial roads that connect north and south Bengal, was blocked in Murshidabad. Trains were also stopped on several routes due to attacks by protesters.
Anti-CAB protesters set the ticket counter at Sankrail railway station on fire in Howrah district pic.twitter.com/5fSws6mYRz
— Indrojit | ইন্দ্রজিৎ (@iindrojit) 14 दिसंबर 2019
In name of #CABProtests , #Bengal is allowed to burn, literally. pic.twitter.com/MpvIY28u3z
— Anindya (@AninBanerjee) 13 दिसंबर 2019
Raining stones! This isn't Kashmir, this is in Howrah, West #Bengal during today's anti-CAB / NRC protest pic.twitter.com/umGDHgINc1
— Indrojit | ইন্দ্রজিৎ (@iindrojit) 14 दिसंबर 2019
Several buses torched by anti-CAB protestors in Howrah. #CitizenshipAmendmentAct @NewIndianXpress pic.twitter.com/kIvpx1nMUc
— Alisha Rahaman Sarkar (@zohrabai) 14 दिसंबर 2019
Officials reported several incidents in West Bengal where protesters targeted ambulances, railway stations and government offices while sloganeering against the law. Protesters claimed that the citizenship law will exclude Muslims from the National Register of Citizenship (NRC).
Muslims are concerned that in the absence of documents, the government will target them and make them stateless. India is home to 11 percent of the world's Muslims.
Scenes of arson at a railway station in Bengal. Government property looted and burnt. Tell me how many police or fire officials do you see at the railway station?
— Soumyadipta (@Soumyadipta) 14 दिसंबर 2019
I was told not one life was lost. That's the only silver lining. pic.twitter.com/GEpsWbBhKZ
Expressing anguish over the violent protests, the West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar said that the Chief Minister has to ‘bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India… and I as Governor will ‘to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law’.
Can people stop getting injured/dying, when innocent Muslims are protesting?
— Insanely Sane (@Sanity_3) December 13, 2019
*Sign of times to come*pic.twitter.com/2VXi3qo1ct
Protest against CAB and NRC at Gaya Bihar. pic.twitter.com/ZAZNliUzUs
— Md saifullah (@mdsaifullah786) December 14, 2019
Huge protest in #Gaya, Bihar against Nitish Kumar. People shouting “नीतीश कुमार होश में आओ”. Why Bihar CM is deadly silent on #CitizenshipAmmendmentBill2019? pic.twitter.com/6wYefeB2bJ
— Rashtriya Janata Dal (@RJDforIndia) December 13, 2019
Meanwhile, internet service has been suspended across Assam until 16 December. The government claims the ban is necessary to preserve peace and to maintain law and order.
Amid intensifying protests in Assam Indian home minister Amit Shah assured that “culture, social identity, language and political rights of the northeastern people will be untouched and Modi government will protect them."
The Indian government has enacted a citizenship law for non-Muslim migrants from Friday. The law provides opportunities to six religious minorities – Hindus, Parsis, Jains, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs – from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan to receive Indian citizenship if they arrived in India before 2015.
