NEW DELHI: A clash broke out between anti-Waqf (Amendment) Act protesters and police in Silchar town of Assam’s Cachar district on Sunday, a senior official said.
Protestors threw stones while the police retaliated with batons after hundreds of people hit the streets, without permission, in the Berenga area of Silchar to protest the recently enacted legislation.
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“Around 300-400 people protested by blocking the road. When we tried to clear the path, some of them threw stones at us. We had to use mild lathi-charge to disperse the crowd,” the official told news agency PTI.
“The area has been cleared and a case has been registered. However, no one has been detained or arrested yet,” he added.
Visuals from the protest site showed people shouting slogan of “BJP go back.” The Bharatiya Janata Party is the ruling party at the Centre and in Assam.
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The agitators, who had national flags and black flags, demanded repeal of the Act.
On Saturday, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma held a press conference and said the state police had a “strong intelligence” report there could be “some disturbances” during protests by the minority community against the Waqf Act.
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Sarma said the police force worked extensively to prevent any violence, with the intelligence report suggesting “problems” on after the weekly prayers on Friday.
