Vandalism has been a hallmark of the so-called peaceful protest staged by demonstrators against the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act. After protests in Delhi, West Bengal witnessed largescale violence with acts of arson and vandalism by the rioters masquerading as protestors, Nashik and Beed districts in Maharashtra too saw vandals hurling stones at the state government buses and causing damages to public property.
As protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act was carried out in the remote town of Beed, about 380 KMs from Mumbai, demonstrators flung stones at State Transport buses at the Yashwantrao Chavan Chowk, leaving the window panes of the buses shattered. The police deployed at the spot, in order to avoid any untoward incident, managed to limit the damage by dispersing the stone-pelters.
In another Maharashtrian town of Nanded, about 570 KMs from the capital Mumbai, miscreants caused grave damages to a bus standing outside the Nanded railway station. After the incident, the bus service in the area was suspended for some time, an official said.
Following the incident, Maharashtra police posted a tweet asking the citizens of Nanded to not believe in the rumours and fake news and inform police in case they encounter any malicious content on social media.
Appeal to all Nanded district citizens Kindly don’t believe in rumours, don’t spread any malicious and fake content on social media, if anything comes to your notice please contact Nanded police 02462-234720.@DGPMaharashtra #contactnandedpolice#dontbelieveinrumours pic.twitter.com/VPiEZ189Mr
— Nanded Police (@NandedPolice) December 20, 2019
According to the Parbhani police official, protestors threw stones at a fire-brigade vehicle on Vasmat road.
Earlier, the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Upper House of the Indian Parliament triggered a wave of protests across north-eastern India and the national capital Delhi. The protests at Jamia Islamia Millia University in Delhi turned violent as arsonist protestors resorted to vandalising vehicles and pelting stones at the law enforcement personnel. The protests in West Bengal took an ugly turn as 5 trains were set on fire by an enraged mob, besides torching scores of vehicles in the state ruled by the Trinamool Congress.
