Enhance security for Guwahati mission: Bangladesh

Bangladesh on Thursday asked India to enhance security for its Guwahati mission after a mob defaced two signposts near the chancery, as protests against the citizenship bill rocked Assam plunging the state into total chaos.

Two persons were killed on Thursday in police firing in Assam to quell protests against the citizenship bill with thousands descending on streets defying curfew as Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed his government was committed to safeguarding their rights.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Indian high commissioner Riva Ganguly Das met acting foreign secretary Kamrul Hasan at his office this evening.

Ahsan "protested about the attack on the convoy of the (Bangladesh) assistant high commissioner and vandalisation of the signposts (of Bangladesh Chancery in Guwahati)".

"He (Ahsan) requested for the protection of personnel and property of the Mission by the host government," the statement said.

Indian envoy assured that the Indian authorities were being immediately alerted for enhanced security of the Bangladesh chancery and the assistant high commissioner's residence in Guwahati, it said.

"The appropriate Indian authorities have already taken enhanced security measures to protect the assistant high commission premise, its personnel and members of their families," the statement quoted Das as saying.

According to the statement, mobs today defaced two signposts of the mission, 30 yards away from the chancery in Guwahati, a day after agitators attacked the security vehicle escorting Bangladesh assistant high commissioner as he was heading towards to the city from the airport.

Bangladesh, however, "believes that the attack on the convoy of the assistant high commissioner and vandalization of the signposts is a one-off incident and it will not affect the excellent bilateral relations that Bangladesh and India enjoy", it said.