3 die in police firing; Bangladesh Minister AK Abdul Momen cancels visit

New Delhi: Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has cancelled his visit to India due to "increasing demands at home". The cancellation comes amid violent protests in the North East over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB).

Shortly after news of the cancellation External Affairs Ministry (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar addressed a media briefing and cautioned against reading too much into Momen's decision.

According to news agency ANI "We know the visit has been cancelled... I understand the Foreign Minister has given an explanation.

Our relations are strong, like our two leaders have said repeatedly said, and I don't think this cancellation will have any effect," Raveesh Kumar said.

Momen, speaking to reporters in Dhaka, said allegations of repression of minorities in his country were "untrue".

"Whoever gave them the information, it is not correct.

Many important decisions of our country are taken by persons belonging to different religions... we never judge anybody by their religion," he said.

Thousands of people defied curfew in Guwahati on Thursday and took to the streets, prompting police to open fire in which three persons lost their lives, even as protests against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill intensified in Assam. Police said they had to open fire in Lalung Gaon area in Guwahati after stones were hurled by protestors.

Guwahati Police Commissioner Deepak Kumar has been shunted out and replaced by Munna Prasad Gupta. The protesters attacked the headquarters of the Asom Gana Parishad in Guwahati's Ambari area and vandalised the vehicles parked outside.

The residence of a BJP MLA in the capital city was also set ablaze. Protests also intensified in Tripura, where the Army conducted peace marches and in Meghalaya's capital Shillong, where several shops in the commercial centre were vandalised and vehicles were torched.

As protests continued, MLA Binod Hazarika's residence in Assam's Chabua set ablaze, several vehicles torched by anti-CAB protestors. A circle office was also burned down.

Stones were thrown at Assam police chief Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta's convoy on GS Road in Guwahati. Earlier an Assam MLA's house was set on fire, while several incidents of vandalism were reported.

All schools in Assam will remain closed till December 22 in view of the prevailing protests Railway services in the States of Assam and Tripura have taken a hit, with even Guwahati airport swarming with stranded passengers as several flights also stand cancelled.

The house of Union minister Rameswar Teli in Assam's Duliajan was attacked by anti-Citizenship Bill protesters on Wednesday night, officials said.

They said properties were damaged at the minister's house at Duliajan in Dibrugarh district, without giving further details.

The Union minister of state for food processing industries represents Dibrugarh in Lok Sabha. Eight columns of the Indian Army was on Thursday deployed to Assam and Tripura as per the requests made by the governments of the two states,Army Spokesperson Aman Anand said.

Five columns, each consisting of 70 soldiers and one or two officers, were deployed in Assam, while three columns of Assam Rifles have been deployed in Tripura. Army sources said that the personnel's task would be to help the local administration wherever and whenever required.

The CPM on Thursday said the BJP has pushed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill to extend its "communal agenda" of ensuring that Hindu migrants from Bangladesh living in Assam are given citizenship while seeking to exclude Muslim migrants from that country.

An editorial in the forthcoming edition of CPM mouthpiece ''Peoples Democracy'' said the BJP had to get the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill or CAB passed to ensure smooth running of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process.