Bengaluru, Dec 19 (IANS): Starting Thursday, a three-day ban on assembly of more than 5 persons has been imposed in the city in the wake of all-India shutdown call against the Cititzenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), according to a top police officer here on Wednesday.

"The ban has been imposed under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) from 6 a.m. on Thursday to Saturday midnight in view of the shutdown call by social and student organisations," Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao said.

The ban order also prevents citizens from staging protests or sit-in demonstrations across the city against the CAA to prevent any untoward incident and maintain law and order.

Allaying fears, Rao said schools and colleges would remain open, and state-run buses, Metro, taxis and autorickshaws would ply. "Theatres, petrol stations, malls, hotels, restaurants and eateries will be allowed to function normally," he said.

As the police have received reports of proposed pro and anti-CAA rallies, Rao said the ban would prevent holding them and prevent clashes. "We will take stringent action under section 188 of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) against violators of the ban and offenders taking law into their hands and causing damage to public property and harm to the people," Rao said.

The Citizen Amendment) Act grants Indian citizenship to persecuted religious minorities, like Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsies and Christians from the neighbouring Muslim-majority countries, like Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.