Assam violence: Congress worker, 190 more arrested
Thousands have been either arrested or detained in Assam, where protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act turned violent last week. A Congress worker was one of those arrested.
Last UpdatedDec 17, 2019 10:48 IST 
Published byA Congress worker was among nearly 200 people arrested for conspiring and indulging in violence in Assam, where angry protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act were held last week.
Assam's police chief, Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, said 190 protesters had been arrested and that 136 cases had been registered.
The police claims there's a political conspiracy behind the violence. Mahanta said some conspirators had been arrested, including "major leaders" from various organisations.
In addition to the arrests, over 3,000 people have been detained across Assam.
Young students detained for participating in protests have been allowed to leave after counselling.
'POLICE FIRED TO SAVE PEOPLE AND PROPERTY'
Four people have been killed in police firing during the protests in Assam.
Mahanta said the police had been forced to fire to save people and property, and that the situation had been brought under control.
Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, Director General of Police, Assam: 4 people have been killed in police action unfortunately. Situation had become such that the police had to fire in order to save more people & property. Situation is pretty much under control now. #CitizenshipAmendmentAct pic.twitter.com/5ZwDNIvHde ANI (@ANI) December 17, 2019
Angry protests broke out in the Northeast last week as the Citizenship (Amendment) Act was made law after sailing through Parliament.
The policy fast-tracks naturalisation for Pakistani, Afghan and Bangladeshi refugees who fled religious persecution in their home countries; it covers six minority groups but not Islamic ones.
The law is seen as a threat to indigeneity in the Northeast, but the government has promised locals that their rights will not be harmed.
Munish Pandey is Editor and National Bureau Head with India Today Group. With over a decade's experience in crime and investigative journalism, Munish is known for his factual and investigative reports on white collar crimes, crimes involving politicians and corporate houses, violence, riots, international crimes and conspired killings. He started his career in Mumbai and has covered the underworld, killings, kidnapping, corruption cases, and terrorism. Munish keenly follows the Central Bureau of Investigation, Ministry of Home Affairs, Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax Department, Narcotics Control Bureau, Intelligence Bureau, R&AW, Delhi Police and Mumbai Police. From covering and reporting on the 2013 Mumbai triple blasts, Pune Bomb Blasts, Hyderabad bomb blast, he has covered and reported extensively on 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, Malegaon case and Mumbai train attacks. Munish Pandey is among the few journalists who first reported on the growing network of terror outfit ISIS in India and their recruitments in the country. He is the only journalist to have interviewed narcotrafficker Vicky Goswami, who is currently serving time in a US jail, and Mamta Kulkarni while the two were in Kenya. He has also reported, extensively covered and broken exclusive stories on the PNB scam, the CBI vs CBI case, Nirav Modi-Mehul Choksi case, P Chidambaram's arrest and many others.
Munish is a silver medalist in Journalism from the University of Mumbai. He has also undertaken a Defence Correspondent Course of the Ministry of Defence where he spent a month with the Armed Forces at the Indo-China border in the northeast and the naval base at Vizag.
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