A 36-hour bandh in Assam to press for the creation of a separate Kamtapur state was marred by incidents of violence as a truck was set ablaze and vehicles were stoned.
Businesses and educational institutions were closed in some districts of lower Assam during the bandh that ended at 5 pm on Tuesday.
Supporters of the bandh, called by the All Assam Koch Rajbongshi Students' Union, set ablaze a truck near Sundri in Chirang district and pelted stones at several stranded vehicles on National Highway 31, officials said on Tuesday.
Police arrested 12 supporters of the bandh and people gheraoed Sidli police station to protest the arrests.
AAKRSU supporters, however, claimed the violence was triggered by a conspiracy hatched by people opposed to a separate Kamtapur state.
All business establishments and schools and colleges remained closed and vehicular traffic remained off the road. Several long-distance buses and trucks were stranded on National Highway 31, officials said.
Banks and financial institutions remained closed and attendance in government offices was thin.
The bandh, which began at 5 am on Monday, affected Kokrajhar and Goalpara districts and parts of Dhubri district but had had no impact in other parts of the state.
The bandh was called to demand the creation of a separate Kamtapur state and the grant of Scheduled Tribe status to Koch-Rajbongshis.
