The 12-hour Assam bandh called by a conglomerate of 46 organizations paralysed normal life in the Brahmaputra Valley while there was no impact of the shutdown in Barak Valley. Bandh supporters resorted to vandalism, pelting stones at buses and cars besides burning tyres, even shockingly on railway tracks.
#BREAKING | Sensational incident at Sarupathar in Golaghat district of #Assam, close shave for hundreds of train passengers after bandh supporters burn tyres at railway tracks. Mariani-Dimapur passenger seen crossing the tracks with the burning tyre below it. pic.twitter.com/zHRQH59pgX
— NEWS LIVE (@NewsLiveGhy) October 23, 2018
In two separate incidents, bandh supporters burnt tyres on railway tracks risking hundreds of lives as two passenger trains crossed the tracks with the tyres burning below them.
While some bandh supporters burnt tyres on the railway tracks at Sarupathar as the Mariani-Dimapur passenger train was approaching the area, another bunch of supporters resorted to a similar act at Kampur in Nagaon district.
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Bandh supporters also resorted to vandalism and pelted stones at several vehicles across the State in their bid to enforce the 12-hour dawn-to-dusk shutdown. A Guwahati-Sivasagar night bus came under attack from bandh supporters at Jorhat as supporters pelted stones and smashed the front window of the bus. The driver of the bus was injured in the incident.
#FLASH | Bandh supporters pelt stones at vehicles, burn tyres disrupting normal life during the 12-hour #Assam bandh called by a conglomerate of 46 organizations opposing Citizenship Amendment Bill; several bandh supporters detained for trying to disrupt law and order. pic.twitter.com/WKLDpHYxAu
— NEWS LIVE (@NewsLiveGhy) October 23, 2018
Buses were also attacked by unruly bandh supporters at Tinsukia and Merapani while a shuttle service van of the Regional Institute of Science & Technology (RIST) came under stone pelting in Guwahati by bandh supporters while it was carrying students and teachers to the institute.
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“I was taking students and a teacher to the institute when our vehicle came under attack. The bandh supporters pelted stones and I had to increase the speed of the vehicle to cross the area and ferry the students to safety,” the driver of the vehicle said.
“It’s very unfortunate that they resort to such measures. Why do they resort to violence? Today we were lucky that nobody was injured. But tomorrow might be different,” a student of the institution who was at the vehicle when it came under stone pelting told News Live.
Vehicle of USTM carrying students that came under stone pelting by bandh supporters in #Guwahati earlier today. Stone pelting at vehicles reported from various places by bandh supporters during the 12-hour #Assam bandh called to oppose the Citizenship Amendment Bill. pic.twitter.com/nh6vIrckV5
— NEWS LIVE (@NewsLiveGhy) October 23, 2018
There have also been reports of vandalism by bandh supporters from other places; some forcing shops and businesses to down shutters while others prevented office goers to reach their destinations.
Commuters also had a tough time with all private public transport vehicles keeping off the roads with only a few ASTC-run buses plying on the streets, that too mainly inside Guwahati city.
