Citizenship Act: Curfew relaxed in Guwahati, Dibrugarh after week-long stir

Curfew was on Monday relaxed in Guwahati from 6 am to 9 pm, with the city limping back to normalcy, following week-long protests over the amended Citizenship Act, Assam Police Chief Public Relations Officer Rajiv Saikia said.

Night curfew in Guwahati, however, will continue to be in force, he told PTI.

Assam's Additional DGP (law and order) G P Singh had on Sunday tweeted that the decision to extend the hours of relaxation was taken in view of the improvement in the law- and-order situation.

"The situation having improved considerably, the day curfew is being withdrawn from Guwahati from 6AM of December 16th. Night curfew would remain from 9 PM till 6 AM next day," Singh had tweeted.

In Dibrugarh district, curfew has been eased off from 6 am to 8 pm.

According to a senior district official, any protest meeting in Dibrugarh without the permission of the administration would have to end before 3 pm.

The official also said that the measure was being taken to "prevent anti-social elements from mingling with the common people after dark".

Police had been using loudspeakers since Sunday to inform people about the curfew relaxation and its re- imposition.

Assam had been on the boil for the past few days as thousands of people came out on the streets to protest against the amended Citizenship Act. Agitators engaged in pitched battles with the police across various cities, forcing the administration to impose curfew.

At least four people have killed in police firing, while an oil tanker driver was charred to death when his vehicle was set on fire.