One person has lost his life  in clashes between the tribal Khasi Students Union members and non-tribals during a meeting on CAA and inner line permit (ILP) in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills after which mobile internet services have been suspended in six districts, officials said on Saturday.

According to police, clashes broke out between the Khasi Students Union members and non-tribals broke out during anti-CAA and pro-ILP meeting held in Ichamati area of the district on Friday.

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Mobile internet services have been suspended in six districts East Jaintia Hills, West Jaintia Hills, East Khasi Hills, Ri Bhoi, West Khasi Hills an South West Khasi hills of the state from Friday night for 48-hours, officials said.

Curfew was imposed in Shillong and adjoining areas with effect from 10 pm of February 28 to 8 am of February 29, an official order said.

The passing of the Citizenship Bill in the Parliament had plunged the northeast into deep chaos with locals and students hitting the streets in thousands, burning tyres and wooden logs prompting the administration to impose curfew in Guwahati, Tripura and many other places while suspending mobile internet services in 10 districts of Assam, last year in December.

Protests against CAA that were earlier confined to the northeast, had swept the country  in December last year, after several protesters, including students clashed with the police in Delhi’s Jamia Milia Islamia on December 15, 2019 and later at JNU.

Recently after continuously protesting peacefully against the law at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, Delhi, last Saturday plunged into clashes between supporter of CAA and those opposing it leading to unprecedented violence in the notheast Delhi, taking lives of 42 people and around 250 injured.

According to the Citizenship Act, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014, and facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.

The indigenous people of the northeastern states are worried that the entry of these people will endanger their identity and livelihood.

Earlier, the protesters demanded that the ILP be implemented in Meghalaya after the Union home minister promised to extend the law to Manipur in December.

Meghalaya government said that it will pass a resolution during a special session of the Legislative Assembly on December 19, last year seeking implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in the state.

“The Business Advisory Committee of the state Assembly has approved to hold a special session on December 19 to allow the state government pass an official resolution to seek implementation of the ILP.”

ILP is in place in Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram.

The Nagaland government recently extended ILP to Dimapur district, bringing the entire state under its purview.