Assam: 14 arrested in Dhubri, indefinite curfew extended

A total 14 people were on Sunday arrested for their alleged involvement in violence in Dhubri town following desecration of a place of worship, police said. The district administration, which had advanced the night time curfew in the Dhubri police station area by three hours on Saturday, extended it through the day indefinitely in view of the tension following the incident on Friday night.

The 14 people were picked up from various places in Dhubri, they said. One person had died and four others were injured on Saturday in two rounds of clashes between two groups at Jogamaya Ghat and Indira Gandhi Road areas respectively following the desecration.

The police had also resorted to firing six rounds in the air to disperse the agitators at Jogamaya Ghat. Locals had blocked a road protesting the desecration of the place of worship and theft of ornaments worth Rs two lakh from there and a spontaneous bandh was later observed.

Night time curfew had been clamped at 7 pm on Saturday in Dhubri police station area instead of at 10 pm. Night curfew continues in the area since violence in lower Assam in July.