Several parts of West Bengal witnessed violent agitations on Friday over the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act even as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee warned of strict action against the perpetrators and appealed to people to maintain peace.
Five empty trains were set on fire at the Lalgola railway station in Murshidabad district in the evening as protesters continued to block road and rail across the state. A portion of the Sankrail railway station complex in Howrah district was also set on fire in the afternoon by hundreds of protesters.
Earlier, protesters torched around 15 buses—both public and private—and blocked traffic on the arterial Kona Expressway in Howrah that connects both NH6 (Mumbai Road) and NH2 (Delhi Road) to Kolkata.
In Murshidabad, NH 34, one of the main roads that connect north and south Bengal, and several other major roads were blocked by the agitators. NH 6 was blocked in Howrah district as protesters set tyres ablaze and ransacked several vehicles.
Tran services came to a halt in several routes as protesters sat on the tracks at Sankrail, Nalpur, Mourigram and Bakranawabaz stations. A railway official said 20 trains, including eight express trains, have been stopped at various stations.
Cancelled trains
12847/12848 Howrah-Digha AC Exp
12222 Howrah-Pune Duronto Exp
120889 Howrah-Tirupati Humsafar Exp
12860 Howrah-CSMT Geetanjali Exp
22877 Howrah- Ernakulam Antodaya Exp
22897/22898 Howrah-Digha-Howrah Kandari Exp.
12841 Coromondal Exp from Howrah
12245 Howrah- Yesvantpur Duronto Exp
18645 Howrah-Hyderabad East Coast Express
Puri-Digha Express
Puri-Santragachhi Passenger
'Don't take up law in your hand'
Mamata Banerjee reiterated that the amended Citizenship Act and the proposed country-wide NRC will not take effect in the state. She, however, warned of strict action against perpetrators of violence.
"Do not take up law in your hand. Do not put up road blockades and rail blockades and create trouble for the common people on the roads. Do not cause damage to government properties. Strict action would be taken against those who are found guilty in creating disturbances," a CMO statement quoting her said.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was approved by the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha this week, and became an Act after President Ram Nath Kovind gave assent to it on Thursday night.
According to the legislation, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, till December 31, 2014 facing religious persecution there, will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.
With inputs from PTI
