Bajrang Dal calls Assam shutdown Friday

Hindu group Bajrang Dal called a 12-hour shutdown in Assam Friday to demand immediate arrest of All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Badruddin Ajmal for his alleged links with Bangladeshi jihadi groups.

It also demanded sealing of all the madrassas in Assam for their alleged relations with 'jihadi groups' and said it would meet union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Guard (NSG) chief J.N. Choudhury soon to submit a report about increasing activities of fundamentalist groups in Assam and their involvement with the AIUDF.

"We are going to urge the home minister to bring Ajmal and all the 18 AIUDF legislators in Assam within the purview of NIA investigation to unearth the truth," said Bajrang Dal northeast unit chief Lakhi Gogoi.

The bandh will begin at 5 a.m., he said, adding that all emergency services have been exempted.

The Dal also demanded immediate banning of the AIUDF.

The state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Hindu Jagaran Manch have also extended their support to the bandh.