Six Dead Amid Anti-Citizenship Law Protests In India - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th December, 2019) Six people have been killed in the northeastern Indian state of Assam since protests erupted over a controversial law expediting citizenship to all sects but Muslims, media said Sunday.

The death toll climbed by two after a protester died of an injury he sustained when police shot at him on Thursday, with a man died of burns after his vehicle was set alight on Saturday, India's news 18 channel said.

The Indian parliament passed a bill on Wednesday that fast-tracked citizenship for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who had led from neighboring countries before December 2014.

Internet was suspended in Assam until Monday as part of a broader curfew. Train services were disrupted between the region's biggest city of Guwahati and the rest of the country as security forces moved in.

Assam's police chief Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta reportedly said that 85 people had been detained for taking part in violent demonstrations. He added that the situation had been brought under control.