Protests against Citizenship Act continue in Bengal

Violent protests against the contentious Citizenship Act continued in West Bengal on Saturday, with protesters staging rail and road blockades across the state.

With protests not letting up, BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha said the party will seek imposition of President’s rule if the situation continued.

An empty train was set on fire at Krishnapur Railway station in Murshidabad district, while four other empty trains were partially set ablaze at the same station.

Eastern Railway spokesperson Nikhil Chakraborty told DH that they had “received reports that an empty train was set on fire at Krishnapur station”.

Protestors set ablaze a ticket counter in Sankrail Railway Station, Howrah district. Talking about the fire, South Eastern Railway spokesperson Sanjoy Ghosh said, “We are yet to asses the damage as they are not allowing anyone to go near the spot.”

Rail blockades were staged at several stations in Sealdah Division and Malda division. Protesters also blocked rail traffic on the Lakhikantapur-Namkhana line.

Protesters set on fire some instruments of the railways at the Benldanga Railway Station in Murshidabad district. When Fire Brigade personnel reached the spot to douse the flames, protesters drove them away and set a fire engine ablaze. A passenger train was vandalised by protesters in Malda district.

The National Highway 34 was blocked for three hours in Raghunathganj Police Station, while protesters staged a road blockade on the Kona Expressway in Howrah district.

According to a release by the South Eastern Railway, six express trains were cancelled on Saturday, while five scheduled to depart on Sunday have been cancelled in advance. Several passenger trains were also cancelled.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged people to protest in a democratic manner and not to take law in their own hands.