Kolkata: Following widespread violence over protests against the new citizenship law, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday appealed to people to use democratic means of protest and warned that action would be taken against those taking law into their hands.
“Agitate by using democratic means, but don’t take the law in your hands, don’t indulge in road or train blockade,” Banerjee said in an appeal.
The Chief Minister said none of the trouble-makers would be spared.
“We won’t tolerate if common people are made to suffer. Those who are creating disturbances, hitting the streets to take the law in their hands, none of them would be spared,” she said.
“We will take steps as per the law against those torching buses, stoning trains and destroying government property,” she warned.
The chief minister’s appeal came after violent protests against the new citizenship Act (CAA) spread to more areas in the on Saturday as mobs torched buses, set afire railway property and blockaded road and rail disrupting train and vehicular movement.
The unrest began on Friday when the protests vandalised and set fire to railway stations and squatted on the tracks and highways.
In Murshidabad district, railway equipment kept at Eastern Railway’s Beldanga station, which had also faced mob fury on Friday, was burnt by protestors, who also damaged a fire brigade engine and set it afire. When police rushed in, they were stoned.
In Suti of the same district, three state buses were vandalised on Saturday morning and one of them torched by the protestors after they forced out the passengers.
In Raghunathganj, the National Highway 34 was blocked for three hours at Talai More as protestors burnt tyres on the road.
A large group of protestors shouting slogans against CAA vandalised the Basudevpur halt station and indulged in arson.
Mobs also squatted on the railway tracks at Poradanga, Jangipur and Farakka stations in Murshidabad district and Bauria and Nalpur stations of South Easter Railway in Howrah district.
Train movement between Lalgola and Palashi stations has been thrown into jeopardy, railway sources said.
Six buses were torched on Kona Expressway in Howrah district, before police baton charged to remove the road blockade.
The ticket counter was set ablaze in Sankrail station under South Eastern Railway, with the protestors also obstructing the train tracks and halting vehicular movement by putting up road blocks at Champatala crossing with burning tyres.
Trains have stopped plying on the South Eastern Railway’s Howrah-Kahragpur section following the disturbances.
A large number of long distance trains were either cancelled or were stranded at various stations.
Suburban train services of Eastern Railway on the Sealdah Hasnabad section were also disrupted after a blockade at Kankra Mirzanagar station.