At least two persons died while several others suffered bullet injuries in Assam's Guwahati on Thursday evening after police opened fire on the demonstrators protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.
The identities of the deceased are yet to be ascertained.
An official of the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital told PTI that one person was brought dead and another succumbed to injuries during treatment. However, protesters claimed three people had died in police firing.
The state has been on the edge as thousands of angry protesters came out on streets even as several towns and cities were placed under indefinite curfew. In Guwahati, the epicentre of the anti-CAB protests, police firing was reported in several places including Hatigaon, Lachitnagar, Bashishta, Downtown, Ganeshguri and Lalungaon.
Earlier in the day, the government had extended the suspension of Internet services in 10 districts of Assam for another 48 hour.
Amid the raging agitation, the state government replaced Guwahati Police Commissioner Deepak Kumar with IPS officer Munna Prasad Gupta. Additional General of Police (Law and Order) Mukesh Agarwal was replaced with IPS officer G.P. Singh.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in a video appeal to the people assured that the state's traditional culture, language, political and land rights would be protected by implementing Clause 6 of the Assam Accord.
Governor Jagdish Mukhi also appealed to the people to maintain peace in the state. "If the student community has any issues against the government they have every right to agitate but they should do it in a democratic and peaceful manner, without taking the law in their hands," he said.
Meanwhile, the Meghalaya government on Thursday withdrew mobile Internet and messaging services across the state for the next 48 hours due to deteriorating law and order situation. The services have been withdrawn since 5 pm Thursday.
Tripura's capital Agartala observed a shutdown, with educational institutions and offices closed, though no major incident of violence was reported from the state.
The Citizenship Bill has been cleared in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and is awaiting Presidential assent.
According to the proposed legislation, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, till December 31, 2014 facing religious persecution there, will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.
