Protests over citizenship law continue in Bengal

Road and rail blockades continued in parts of West Bengal on Tuesday, though no major incidents of violence were reported, even as rallies were taken out to protest against the citizenship law.

Districts like Malda and Murshidabad, which has seen violent protests over the last few days, were relatively calm, police said.

In North 24 Parganas' Basirhat area, a road was blocked for a few hours with agitators raising slogans against the amended Citizenship Act.

Protesters also blocked roads and set tyres on fire in Tehatta and Dhubalia areas of the Nadia district. In South 24 Parganas, protesters blocked roads and railway tracks in Diamond Harbour.

Roads were also blocked in Sankrail area of the Howrah district that saw violent protests in the last few days. An officer of the Howrah City Police, deputy commissioner Ajit Singh Yadav, was injured during raids to nab those involved in the violence as a crude bomb was hurled at him.

He is currently admitted at a hospital.

Railway officials said all trains from Northeast and north Bengal to Kolkata have been cancelled owing to the protests.

Train services in Baruipur-Diamond Harbour section were also affected as protesters blocked tracks between Deula and Basuldanga stations.

Train movements in Krishnanagar-Lalgola section of the Sealdah division and New Farakka-Azimganj section of the Malda division and Ahmedpur-Katwa section of the Howrah division were also impacted, an official said.

Around 19 express trains were cancelled, he said.

Meanwhile, the police have stepped up its vigil across the state and officials said 354 people have been arrested for indulging in violence.

Officers of the Kolkata and Bidhannagar police forces met representatives of different religious groups, seeking their cooperation to prevent any deterioration of the law and order situation, a senior official of the Home Department said.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who led a protest rally against the citizenship law for the second consecutive day, appealed for calm and reiterated that violence over the amended Citizenship Act would defeat the purpose of the protest.

She dubbed the arson and vandalism that rocked the state over the last few days as "minor incidents", and asserted that the BJP-led Centre cannot "bully" states into submission and enforce the law.

The CPI(M)-affiliated DYFI also took out a torch rally in the Esplanade area in protest against the contentious law.

The sit-in by students of Jadavpur University and Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute in protest against police action inside Jamia Millia Islamia campus in Delhi continued, with students of the Aliah University forming a human chain at Park Circus seven-point crossing.

BJP also took out rallies in Kolkata and other parts of the state in support of the law. Police stopped the rallies in some places, leading minor scuffles with the BJP activists.