Jaipur/Birbhum, January 23: Two women, mistaken as surveyors collecting data for the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), were attacked by the mob in Rajasthan and West Bengal on Wednesday. Nazreen Bano, who was collecting data for the National Economics Census 2019- 2020, was manhandled in Kota's Brijdham area. In a separate incident in West Bengal, a woman's house was set on fire by a mob following rumours that she was collecting data for the proposed nationwide NRC. Why Citizenship Amendment Act+NRC Raise Fear And Concerns: A Multi-Dimensional Take.

Residents in Brijdham area initially gave all information to Nazreen Bano who works for the National Economic Census department. However, 4-5 families called her back and asked her to delete the data. Her mobile phone was snatched away and the app installed for the economic census was deleted. When she told the crowd that she was a Muslim like them, she was asked to recite a verse from the Quran. She was let go after she showed them an "Ayat Al-Kursi (The Throne Verse) card" from her wallet, Times of India reported.

The crowd mistook her as an enumerator for the CAA and NRC. "I explained to them that the data collected was related to the economic census and had been uploaded on the portal, and that there was nothing wrong in it. But they were not convinced and started misbehaving with me," she was quoted as saying. In West Bengal's Birbhum, a mob attacked 20-year- old Chimki Khatun's house suspecting her as a surveyor for NRC. CAA Protests: 'Those Born Before 1987 or Whose Parents Are Born Before 1987 Are Indians', Says Government.

Residents of Gourbazar village set Khatun's house on fire. Khatun and her family members had to take shelter at the Mallarpur police station following the incident. She works for Google India and Tata Trusts' digital literacy initiative for rural women, Internet Saathi. However, police and administration denied that the incident was linked to the NRC.

Many suspects that the Modi government wants to target Muslims through the NRC and that's why it has brought the Citizenship Amendment Act which gives Indian citizenship to immigrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh but not if they are Muslims. While non-Muslims left out of the NRC could be able to get citizenship under the CAA, Muslims who could not make the list may be deported or sent to detention centres.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 23, 2020 10:38 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).