Kolkata: 56-yr-old woman dies of heart attack at anti-caa protest

KOLKATA: A 56-year-old woman protester died at Park Circus Maidan in south Kolkata on Saturday, where dozens of women and children have been staging a demonstration against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR) over the past 26 days, along the lines of Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh.

“Sameeda Khatun was very active and had been demonstrating for over the past 15 days almost. She used to come every day around 3 pm and leave for home around 1 am,” said Asmat Jameel, one of the organisers of the demonstration at Park Circus Maidan — a prominent landmark in the city with a Muslim neighbourhood.

According to the doctors, Khatun died of cardiac failure. She f ell i l l at night and was rushed to a private hospital. Doctors referred her to a staterun hospital where doctors declared her dead on arrival.

Following her death, on Sunday morning, other protesters on the stir switched off the loudspeakers to maintain silence to pay condolence.

“Khatun was a patient of high blood pressure and sugar. Her family never wanted her to be here so long every day. But she kept saying that the fight was much bi gger t han her own health,” said Rafey Siddiqui, another organiser.

The law seeks to fast track the citizenship process for people of minority communities fleeing religious persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Opponents of the law have contended that the law is unconstitutional and discriminatory of Muslims.

Several protests have erupted against the amended law across the country, including in the national capital.