The 12-hour Assam bandh called by 46 organizations in protest against the Centre’s bid to pass the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill paralyzed normal life in Dibrugarh on Tuesday.
The band supporters vandalized a shop in Dibrugarh town in front of the police. It seems that police has become a mute spectator.
Dibrugarh is the home constituency of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal but it seems that there is no adequate security to control the bandh supporters.
“We have opened our shop because the district administration has told that if anybody supports the bandh their trade license will be cancelled. Therefore, we opened our shop against the bandh. The bandh supporters threatened us in the morning to shut down our shop. After an hour they came and assaulted us and vandalzed our shop in front of the police and they are waiting as a mute spectator as they are supporting the bandh demonstrators,” the owner of the Dibrugarh based shop said.
He said the district administration has failed to provide security to us.
Defying the government’s order to stay away from the bandh, most business establishments, schools and colleges remained shut.
Atleast 100 bandh supporters were detained by the police from various parts of the town and were confined at the Dibrugarh police station.
Political parties, including the Congress, have extended their support to the bandh, led by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) and Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP).
The state governemnt had termed the bandh illegal citing a 2013 court order which had banned shutdowns or bandhs in the state and called them “unconstitutional and illegal”.