Clicky
National, Back Page

Meghalaya declares curfew


Bangladeshpost
Published : 13 Dec 2019 08:54 PM | Updated : 02 Sep 2020 11:35 AM

Mobile internet and SMS services were blocked across Indian northeastern Meghalaya for two days, and an indefinite curfew imposed in parts of state capital Shillong after unrest flared in the state on Thursday (Dec 12) over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill or CAB, reports NDTV.

In the Williamnagar town, 250 km from Shillong, anti-CAB protestors heckled Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, as he landed from a chopper to take part in an event to mark the death anniversary of a freedom fighter, the report added. The Meghalaya police, through its Twitter handle, appealed to people not to spread misinformation and also announced the curfew in Shillong and the suspension of SMS and mobile internet services.

In neighbouring Assam, violent mobs torched buildings and clashed with the police, leaving at least two dead. Though no major incident of violence was reported from Tripura, state capital Agartala observed a shutdown, with educational institutions and offices closed, the report said.

The protests in the north-eastern states were triggered by the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which promises citizenship to non-Muslim minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday (Dec 12). While opposition parties have called the law unconstitutional for making religion a criterion for immigration, residents in ethnically-diverse northeastern states like Assam and Tripura have launched protests because it stands to give citizenship to large numbers of Hindus who have emigrated from Bangladesh in recent decades.