Assam: Curfew imposed in Dibrugarh district, Guwahati

Assam's capital city Guwahati and its district of Dibrugarh have been placed under indefinite curfew till further orders in the wake of protests after the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

The administration has also suspended mobile Internet services for 24 hours from 7 pm on Wednesday in ten districts of the state-Lakhimpur, Tinsukia, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Kamrup (metro) and Kamrup.

An order of the Assam administration warned that violation of the "promulgation" will be punishable under Section 188 IPC and also under the relevant provision of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885.

The decision came in the wake of protests in the state against the CAB.

Also, Indian Army said that two columns of Assam Rifles troops have been deployed in Tripura and the third column in Assam is on standby at the request of the civil Administration in Tripura and Assam.

Guwahati Police Commissioner Deepak Kumar said: "The curfew has been imposed in Guwahati (Assam) since 6:15 pm today. It will remain imposed until normalcy is restored here."

On Wednesday as many as 125 members of the Upper House voted in favour of the CAB Bill while 105 MPs voted against the Bill. It had been passed with a majority of 311 votes against 80 votes in the Lok Sabha earlier.

The Bill seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees who came from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghstan on or before December 31, 2014.

( With inputs from ANI )