The Assam police have registered 136 cases and arrested 190 people so far for being involved in violent protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019 in the state.
Informing this, Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma during a press conference in Guwahati on Monday said, “The police have registered 136 cases so far for violence and vandalism that destroyed several government properties during the protests.”
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The minister also said, “Police have also detained 190 persons so far from different districts for their involvement in inciting the mob for violent protests.”
He said four persons died of bullet injuries in Guwahati.
With the improvement in law and order situation across the state, the BJP-led Assam government on Monday lifted the curfew during the day from Monday.
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Also read: Curfew relaxed for 9 hours in Guwahati
However, night curfew will continue from 9 pm to 6 am for a few more days.
The minister said restriction on mobile internet is still on but it will be relaxed soon after further improvement of the situation.
“The law & order is being reviewed every day and the restriction on mobile internet will be relaxed soon,” Sarma said.
Sarma said the police are investigating to find out if the protests over the Citizenship Amendment Bill (now CAA) that ravaged the state since December 10 are spontaneous outbursts of people’s emotions or incited by some other elements.
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The CAB became an Act after President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the bill on December 12.
The bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on December 11 night.
He said 27 people, who received bullet injuries during the anti-CAB protests since December 10, were admitted to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).
“Out of these 27, four people died in GMCH while 13 others were discharged from the hospital. Ten other injured were admitted to the hospital on Monday and their conditions are stated to be out of danger,” he said.
He also said the government has taken the cases of violence in Assam’s capital city seriously and that video footage is being examined to book more people, who had incited the violence.
“The government may also go for setting up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the violence,” he said.
The minister also hinted involvement of a particular political party behind the vandalism at Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra in Guwahati’s Panjabari area and in front of the Assam Secretariat at Dispur.
Sarma, however, refused to name the political party.
“We have received visual evidence that the protests that took place at Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra and at Dispur have a pattern. The protest at Hatigaon area has a different pattern,” he said.
He alleged that the instigators of violence were not locals.
“Most of the instigators, who were involved in the violence, were from Barpeta, Golapara and other districts. This indicates that the people of Guwahati were not interested in losing peace, it was some people from outside who came and led to the violence,” he added.