Violence against citizenship law spreads in Bengal
Rail movement hit, buses torched
Kolkata: Violent protests against the new citizenship law spread to more areas in West Bengal on Saturday as mobs torched buses, set afire railway property and blockaded road and rail disrupting train and vehicular movement.
In Murshidabad district, railway equipment kept at Eastern Railway’s Beldanga station, which had also faced mob fury on Friday, was burnt by protesters, who also damaged a fire brigade engine and set it afire. When police rushed in, they were stoned.
On Friday, protesters carrying posters against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens, had vandalised the railway station, torched the station master’s cabin and ransacked the ticket counter before setting it ablaze.
In Suti of the same district, three state buses were vandalised on Saturday morning and one of them torched by the protesters after they forced out the passengers.
In Raghunathganj, the National Highway 34 was blocked for three hours at Talai More as protesters burnt tyres on the road.
A large group of protesters shouting slogans against CAA and NRC vandalised the Basudevpur halt station and indulged in arson.
Mobs also squatted on the railway tracks at Poradanga, Jangipur and Farakka stations in Murshidabad district and Bauria and Nalpur stations of South Easter Railway in Howrah district.
Train movement between Lalgola and Palashi stations has been thrown into jeopardy, railway sources said.
Six buses were torched on Kona Expressway in Howrah district, before police baton charged to remove the road blockade.
The ticket counter was set ablaze in Sankrail station under South Eastern Railway, with the protesters also obstructing the train tracks and halting vehicular movement by putting up road blocks at Champatala crossing with burning tyres.
Trains have stopped plying on the South Eastern Railway’s Howrah-Kahragpur section following the disturbances.
A large number of long distance trains were either cancelled or were stranded at various stations.
Suburban train services of Eastern Railway on the Sealdah Hasnabad section were also disrupted after a blockade at Kankra Mirzanagar station.