Protests against Citizenship Bill: Army headquarters closely monitoring situation in Northeast

The Army headquarters is closely monitoring the situation in the northeastern region in the wake of widespread protests and violence against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, official sources said on Wednesday. They said two Army columns have been deployed in Tripura which witnessed massive protests against the legislation that seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who have faced religious persecution there.

The approximate strength of one column is 70 personnel. The sources said one column has been put on standby in Assam's Bongaigaon and another in Dibrugarh.

Field commanders and Army headquarters are monitoring the situation closely, said a senior Army official.