GUWAHATI:
The state government has imposed Section 144 CrPC in Cachar, Hailakandi, Karimganj and Bongaigaon districts of Assam following an intelligence input on violence breaking out over the controversial remarks made by now suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal.
However, no untoward incident has been reported so far from any part of the state even as a protest rally was restricted by the police and district administration at Sonari in Upper Assam’s Charaideo district on Saturday.
The district magistrates of the four districts have restricted any kind of gathering, thereby imposing Section 144 of the CrPC when the call for protests was made by several groups.
Section 144 of the CrPC was first clamped in Cachar and Karimganj on June 11, after which on June 12, the district administrations of Bongaigaon and Hailakandi also imposed Section 144 of the CrPC in their respective districts.
Protests broke out in several parts of the country on June 10 against Sharma’s comments.
Jama Masjid in Delhi, Howrah district in West Bengal, Srinagar, Shahranpur, Prayagraj, and 14 districts in Maharashtra, saw large protests break out. Indian ambassadors had been called from several Arab countries like Iran, Kuwait and others over Sharma’s controversial remarks. Pakistan started a disinformation campaign against India using social media.
In a statement, the BJP discouraged Sharma’s statement and said that Naveen Jindal and Nupur Sharma have been suspended from the party. The envoys to the Arab countries also assured that the comments made were opinions of ‘fringe elements’ and did not represent the opinion of the nation.