On Wednesday, a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA) and a proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) in India’s eastern West Bengal turned violent, killing two people and injuring another. The clash took between two groups place in Murshidabad which borders Bangladesh.
According to the police, the violent groups hurled crude bombs and fired several rounds during the clashes.
“Two persons identified as Anirudh Biswas and Maqbool Sheikh have lost their lives while another man has received severe injuries. Several cars and two-wheelers were damaged and set on fire. Heavy police have been deployed in the area and situation has brought under control,” said a senior police officer.
West Bengal: Two dead in clashes between pro and anti CAA/NRC protesters in Murshidabad yesterday. The two deceased have been identified as Anirudh Biswas and Maqbool Sheikh.More details awaited. pic.twitter.com/OAUANA59VF
— ANI (@ANI) January 29, 2020
In another incident of violence in neighbouring northern Bihar, 15 people were injured in clashes between two groups – one opposing and the other supporting the law in Sitamarhi district.
#WATCH Bihar: A clash broke out between two groups - one protesting against #CitizenshipAmendmentAct & National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the other supporting it, in Sitamarhi today. 15 people were injured in the clash. Police personnel have now been deployed in the area. pic.twitter.com/WDvib4BcAR
— ANI (@ANI) January 29, 2020
According to local police, the situation was brought under control while additional security has been deployed in the area to prevent any further escalation of violence.
Earlier this week, West Bengal state passed a resolution against the law, which the government headed by Mamta Banerjee of the All India Trinamool Congress has held as discriminatory to Muslims and violates the provisions of the Indian constitution.
The CAA which was enacted by the federal government on 13 December. It seeks to provide citizenship to illegal immigrants from Hindu, Christian, Parsi, Jain and Buddhist backgrounds from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that no Indian citizen would be affected by the law as it “seeks to grant citizenship, not snatch it”. Modi has also clarified that his cabinet has not considered a nationwide census to identify illegal immigrants.
