Guwahati: As the Congress in Assam continues to protest against the recent death of a party worker, the Assam Police took Indian Youth Congress (IYC) national president Uday Bhanu Chib into preventive detention on Friday morning in Guwahati.
He was detained at a hotel ahead of a planned protest in Dispur, Guwahati.
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According to Guwahati Police Commissioner Diganta Barah, Chib is being held at the hotel where he was staying.
The detention came after the death of Congress activist Mridul Islam during a protest on Wednesday.
Islam was participating in a ‘Raj Bhawan Chalo’ programme, which aimed to highlight various issues, including the unrest in Manipur and bribery allegations against the Adani Group.
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In response to Islam’s death, the opposition party in Assam announced intensified protests across the state.
Chib had visited Islam’s family on Thursday, along with other party leaders, to offer condolences.
The planned ‘Dispur gherao’ programme, which Chib was set to participate in, was prohibited by the administration citing possible law & order situations.
Barah stated that Chib was informed that he could not leave the hotel, citing concerns over potential disruptions to public order.
However, the Congress carried out the protest with a huge number of party members and workers demanding justice for Islam.
The police attempting to prevent the protest from escalating into a law & order issue detained several Congress workers including APCC chief Bhupen Kumar Borah and other Congress leaders.
Senior Congress leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora, APCC working president and Sarukhetri MLA Jakir Hussain Sikdar, Barkhetry MLA Diganta Barman and APCC social media chairperson Ratul Kalita were also detained.
Speaking on the issue, APCC Media Cell chairperson, Bedabrata Bora, condemning the police action, said that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s attempt to suppress democratic protests was an act of cowardice.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma targetting the Congress leaders said that the party seems to be running into a race of leaders.
“The leaders inside the Congress are trying to prove who is a better leader by putting the people and workers at stake. They maybe are looking for a firing incident to take place”, he claimed.
He added, “It seems that by claiming to demolish the public property, the Congress wants a gunfire in the city. The firing may hamper anyone but they seem to be wanting something like this.”
The CM also said that agitation is a thing done by student organisations and not by political parties.
Further speaking on the detention of IYC chief, he said that because Assam is a peaceful and loving state, they are being kept at a hotel.
“Had it been some other state, the IYC chief would have been in jail by now”, Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
It may be mentioned that Guwahati Commissioner of Police Diganta Barah late Thursday night said that the protest by the Assam Pradesh Congress on Wednesday resulted in a law and order situation due to certain actions of the protesters.
He said that a suo moto case has been registered at the Latasil police station in Guwahati under BNS sections 74/115(2)/121(1)/189(2)/189(3)/191(2)/195(1)/195(2)/223(b) read with section 94 of the Assam Police Act, 2007 and section 3(1) of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984.
“Investigation will proceed as per provisions of law,” CP Barah added.