Roads, trains blocked as Bengal protests against citizenship law continue

Internet services remained suspended in six districts of state after protests against citizenship law.

Protesters blocked trains and roads in parts of West Bengal on Monday as the state braced for the fourth day of unrest against India’s new citizenship law,

Protesters in East Midnapore and Murshidabad districts blocked thoroughfares Monday morning, inconveniencing hundreds of commuters, said officials.

Some trains were cancelled or delayed due to the ongoing protests. A spokesperson of the railways said demonstrators have blocked the tracks in Sealdah-Diamond Harbour and Sealdah- Namkhana sectors.

Efforts were being made to disperse the mob, he added.

Internet services remained suspended in six districts of state -- Malda, Uttar Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Howrah, North 24 Parganas and parts of South 24 Parganas districts -- where agitation over the amended Act have brought life to a halt.

On Sunday night, the officer in-charge of Uluberia police station, along with a few other police personnel, sustained injuries after they were allegedly attacked by agitators.

They had to be admitted to a nearby hospital, district officials said.

Incidents of violence, loot and arson were also reported from Nadia and Birbhum districts. State BJP general secretary Sayantan Basu had accused the Trinamool Congress government of doing little to control the deteriorating law and order situation.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said that the amended law will not be implemented in Bengal. Banerjee, who has been at the forefront in opposing National Register of Citizens and Citizenship Act, will hit the streets in the city seeking revocation of the law.