Citizenship bill / Section 144 extended in Ayodhya till February 25

Authorities in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya have extended prohibitory orders banning the assembly of more than four people in the district till February 25, 2020, in view of anti-Citizenship Amendment Act.

Ayodhya’s district magistrate Anuj Kumar Jha said on Friday that Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) has been extended as a precautionary measure amid violence across the state over the amended citizenship act.

Section 144 prohibits assembly of more than four people at any place.

The upcoming Makar Sankranti fair on January 15 and all such traditional religious activities will remain exempted from Section 144.

Hundreds of people are expected to assemble in Ayodhya from neighbouring districts for a holy dip in River Saryu on Makar Sankranti.

However, no one will be allowed to stage any kind of protest.

At least 21 people have died during violent protests in the state on December 20 and in the following days against the amended law, which gives citizenship to migrants of six non-Muslim minority communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.

However, Ayodhya has remained peaceful.

The act seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees from the Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi communities fleeing religious persecution from the three neighbouring countries and who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.