Two Dead in Police Firing in Guwahati, Internet Block in Meghalaya

At least two persons died due to bullet injuries on Thursday, 12 December, after police opened fire on protesters in Assam's Guwahati, news agency PTI reported, quoting officials.

An official of the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital told PTI that one person was brought dead and another succumbed to injuries during treatment. However, protesters claimed three people had died in police firing. Hospital sources said 11 people were brought there with gunshot injuries.

On the other hand, the Meghalaya government on Thursday blocked SMS and Internet services in the entire state.

A curfew has been imposed in Meghalaya capital Shillong and various parts of Assam.

In a major reshuffle, the Assam government on Thursday replaced the Guwahati Police commissioner and transferred several other senior officers, amid violent protests.

Assam: Min’s House Attacked, Activist Arrested

• Assam Handloom Minister Ranjit Dutta's house at Behali in Sonitpur was attacked on Thursday by protestors. A day ago, Union Minister Rameswar Teli’s house was attacked in Duliajan.
• Several towns and cities were placed under indefinite curfew, including Guwahati, the epicentre of protests, besides Dibrugarh, Tezpur and Dhekiajuli. Night curfew was imposed in Jorhat, Golaghat, Tinsukia and Charaideo districts, officials said.
• Mobile internet service suspended for 48 more hours in 10 districts of Assam —Lakhimpur, Tinsukia, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Kamrup (Metro) and Kamrup.
• Police arrested RTI activist and peasant leader Akhil Gogoi on Thursday in Assam's Jorhat district, news agency PTI reported quoting officials.
• IndiGo, Vistara, Air India, SpiceJet are among the carriers that have cancelled their flights on Thursday, while GoAir and AirAsia India announced waiving date change fee.
• Army said it rescued passengers of an express train from a mob trying to set the carriages on fire at Naharkatia railway station.
• Earlier in Guwahati, protesters also clashed with the police in Dibrugarh district, where the police fired tear gas shells and rubber bullets at demonstrators.

Internet Suspended in Tripura for Another 24 Hrs

• The suspension of mobile internet services had been extended for another 24-hours in Tripura after the 48-hour blockade ended on Thursday afternoon, officials said.
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah assured a delegation of the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), a BJP ally, the royal family of the state and Tripura People's Front (TPF) that the government would try to address their concerns over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.
• No major incident of violence was reported from Tripura, however state capital Agartala observed a shutdown, with educational institutions and offices closed.
• The Railways has suspended all passenger train services in Tripura and Assam and short-terminated long distance trains to the region at Guwahati following protests.
• Earlier on on 10 December, agitators participated in a bandh called by the NESO and set a market, where shops were owned mostly by non-tribals, on fire in Dhalai district, the police said.
• An ailing two-month-old baby died at Bishramganj in Sepahijala district while being taken to a hospital as agitators had blocked vehicular traffic.
• Tribal outfits like Joint Movement Against Citizneship Bill (JMACAB) called off its indefinite strike against CAB, following an assurance of a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Meghalaya, Arunachal, Manipur, Mizoram Also Protest

Mobile internet services suspended for 48 hours across Meghalaya, ANI reported.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Thursday postponed a scheduled meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah as his cabinet colleagues failed to reach the Guwahati Airport to board a plane to Delhi, amid curfew and violent protests in the neighbouring state.

Earlier, educational institutions, banks, commercial establishments and markets were closed while public and private vehicles were off the roads in most places in Arunachal Pradesh in response to the strike called by the All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union (AAPSU).

The shutdown called by the All Manipur Students' Union (AMSU) from 3 am to 6 pm on Tuesday elicited overwhelming response, and the organisation has warned it would intensify the agitation if the bill was not immediately withdrawn.

Incidents of tyre burning and vandalisation of vehicles were reported in Meghalaya capital Shillong, as protesters lobbed Molotov cocktails at a police vehicle damaging it in Mawlai area, East Khasi Hills district deputy commissioner MW Nongbri told PTI.

(With inputs from ANI and PTI.)