Guwahati: Police opened fire to disperse protesters at Lalungaonn area here Thursday in which some persons were reportedly injured, a senior police officer said.
The officer claimed that the protesters hurled stones and bricks at the policemen and when attempts to pacify them did not deter the mob, the security personnel opened fire at them.
The officer did not specify the number of people injured in the firing, though the protestors claimed that at least four persons were injured.
Defying curfew, protesters came out on the streets of Guwahati Thursday to protest the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill that was passed in Parliament even as the Army conducted flag marches in Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Jorhat and Tinsukia.
Five columns of the Army have been requistioned and deployed in Assam, an Army statement said. Influential students’ body AASU and peasants organisation KMSS have asked the people to defy the curfew imposed in Guwahati since Wednesday evening and come out of their homes to protest against the bill.
Protesters burnt effigy of senior Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in Ambori area here while students of the Cotton University and Handique Girls college were also seen protesting against the CAB. One of the protesters said “It is a fight for our existence.”
PTI