One person was arrested as sporadic incidents of violence were reported during a shutdown in central Assam on Friday. A group of nine tribal organisations called the 12-hour shutdown after Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal did not include MLA Ramakant Deori, who belongs to a tribal community, in his cabinet.

Sonowal added seven ministers to his cabinet on Thursday in the first such expansion since the Bharatiya Janata Party came into power in the state in 2016.

The tribal organisations accused the BJP of betraying them by keeping out Deori, who represents Morigaon in the Assembly. They claimed that before the elections the ruling party had promised to include tribal leaders in the cabinet.

The shutdown began at 5 am on Friday in seven tribal blocks of Morigaon district and affected normal life in the Nagaon and Kamrup districts as well, the police told PTI. In some places, protestors threw stones, damaged vehicles and tried to set them on fire, and blocked traffic despite tight security. Communication was affected on an arterial highway that connects Guwahati to eastern Assam, The Hindu reported. One person was arrested in Morigaon town for allegedly indulging in violence, the police said.