The Congress's Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit out at the UP government today, two days after she accused Lucknow police of manhandling her, alleging that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's administration and the cops were "complicit in wrongdoings" in their brutal crackdown on people protesting the citizenship law. In a short but impassioned press conference Ms Gandhi Vadra dismissed concerns about her own safety and said India was "no place for enmity, violence and revenge". She also alleged UP police had been arresting people - 31 were detained for their alleged role in last week's protests alone - who had nothing to do with agitations against the citizenship law.

"My safety isn't a big issue... (it) doesn't deserve security. We are talking about safety of common man, safety of citizens. The cases we know of suggest more than 5,500 have been arrested. Many have been jailed in discreet manner... they are being thrashed. Police and administration are complicit in wrongdoing," Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said.

The Congress leader also claimed the police in the state were "working to ensure Yogi's badla (revenge)", referring to a shocking statement by the Chief Minister; he was quoted as saying: "We will take badla on them (the protestors)".

Earlier today the Congress demanded a judicial inquiry into the "unlawful conduct" of Uttar Pradesh police officers, whose actions, the party said, were not in keeping with a force duty-bound to protect the rights of citizens.

In a 14-page memorandum to Governor Anandiben Patel the party said the conduct of the police had been observed and reported to be "patently unlawful, destructive of the rule of law and repressive of honest citizens".

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday said that as long as she is alive the Citizenship (Amendment) Act will not be implemented in Bengal.

None can snatch away the rights of the people of the country, like citizenship, the Trinamool Congress chief said at a programme in West Bengal's Naihati.

Supporting the students' protest across the country against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act, she wondered why they can vote to elect a government on turning 18 but not have the right to protest.

"As long as I am alive CAA will not be implemented in Bengal. No one has to leave the country or the state. There won't be any detention centre in Bengal," Ms Banerjee said.

"Why can't students protest against a draconian law? The Centre is taking action against protesting students and is rusticating them from universities," she added.

Saffron flags dotted the streets of Kolkata as BJP national working president JP Nadda kicked off a massive rally in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act today. The 4.5-kilometre march was undertaken to counter the ongoing agitation against the controversial law since its passage in parliament earlier this month.

The march, which also saw the participation of West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh, national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and party leader Locket Chatterjee, commenced from Hind Cinema in central Kolkata this afternoon and will culminate at Shyambazar later in the day.

Footage of the march showed JP Nadda and Kailash Vijayvargiya waving BJP flags from an open-air vehicle and shouting slogans as party activists walked alongside. "We are taking out this march in a peaceful manner. The people have been misled. In West Bengal, the Chief Minister herself is troubling the people. She is causing unease among the people by telling them lies," another party leader, Roopa Ganguly, told news agency ANI.

Once they reach Shyambazar, JP Nadda is expected to deliver a speech detailing the benefits of the Citizenship Amendment Act.

The amended law, which aims to expedite citizenship for non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, has been a major flashpoint between the Trinamool Congress government and the BJP-led centre. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who maintains that she will not allow its implementation in the state, personally led several rallies to condemn the law over the last few weeks.

Meanwhile, student groups and Trinamool Congress activists continued protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act in other parts of the city. Many students at Bengal's Jadavpur University showed black flags to West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar, who had come down for a convocation ceremony.

Over 20 people have been killed in clashes over the Citizenship Amendment Act so far.

A strong earthquake was felt across North India, Pakistan and Afghanistan on Friday around 5.09 pm. The epicentre is said to be the Hindu-Kush region in Afghanistan. The magnitude of the earthquake is said to be 6.8 on the Richter scale.

The tremors were reported in Mathura, Lucknow, Prayagraj, Jammu and Kashmir and several other parts of North India. The reports of panic and evacuations are also pouring in from Lahore in Pakistan. The magnitude of the earthquake is said to be 6.8 on the Richter scale.

So far, there have been no reports of loss of property and life in the regions hit by the earthquake.

Reports of tremors being felt are coming from Chandigarh, Faridkot, Dalhousie, Chamba, Dehradun, Srinagar, Jammu, Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, along with Pakistan's Islamabad and Lahore.

More details awaited.

Citizenship act protest updates: Violent protests rocked several cities in Uttar Pradesh after as protestors and police clashed in Gorakhpur, Firozabad and Bahraich. Police and protestors pelted each other with stones, which resulted in injuries from both sides. Several vehicles were reported torched in Firozabad. Meanwhile, security has been tightened in sensitive areas across the state as prohibitory orders under Section 144 remain in place.

Security has been tighetened in the Northeast district of Delhi. Joint CP Alok Kumar said that anti-riot gear have been handed out and drones have been deployed for protests against Citizenship Amendment Act. Ten companies of CRPF and RAF have also been deployed.

Meanwhile, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) stated on Friday morning that all the stations have been reopened and that normalcy has been restored across the network. Additionally, mobile internet in Assam has also been restored.

On Thursday, anti-CAA protests across the nation escalated. In multiple parts of the country, including Mangaluru and Lucknow, protests turned violent. Two people were killed in police firing in Mangaluru and a person died in Lucknow.

Multiple prominent citizens of the country joined the protests against the Citizenship Act across the country. Ramchandra Guha, Yogendra Yadav, Sandeep Dikshit were some of these personalities who were detained. Mumbai saw the participation of multiple Bollywood personalities at the demonstration in August Kranti Maidan.

Speaking at an event in Kolkata, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked PM Narendra Modi why he did not vote when Citizenship Amendment Bill was on the floor of the Parliament. 'Since you didn't vote for CAB, I believe you do not support it either. Please repeal it," Mamata said.