Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was promulgated in southern Assam’s Hailakandi district after a clash over the construction of a pay-and-use toilet.
Section 144 restricts unlawful assembly of people.
Flash point
Trouble started on Wednesday when members of the Congress and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) clashed near the toilet’s construction site – a garden outside the government-run district hospital in Hailakandi town, about 310 km south of Guwahati.
The toilet was being constructed by the State’s Public Health Engineering (PHE) department.
The district hospital was named after former Congress MLA Santosh Kumar Roy. The Congress and the BJP were opposed to the toilet as it is very close to a statue of Roy.
But AIUDF legislator Anwar Hussain Laskar, who wanted the toilet there started helping the labourers engaged in the construction work. This resulted in a clash between supporters of the Congress and the BJP.
“I wanted the toilet built beside the bus stand but people wanted it near the hospital. The hospital authorities approved and work started four days ago. But Congress opposed it saying the site is close to the statue. Congress and BJP are not bothered about amenities to the people,” Mr. Laskar told The Hindu on Thursday.
