The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has labelled arrested peasants’ leader Akhil Gogoi as an overground worker of the proscribed CPI (Maoist).
Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) chief Gogoi has been booked by the NIA on charges of sedition and under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
KMSS is one of the key organisations spearheading protests in Assam against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).
The FIR lodged by NIA on Saturday alleged that Gogoi and several others, “through their visible representation and spoken words… have abetted, incited hatred and caused disaffection towards the government…”
Accusing him of being involved in “terrorist activities”, the FIR alleges that Gogoi and “others have used passage of CAB in Parliament as an opportunity to promote enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, piece of birth, residence, language and done acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony, using visible representations and spoken words, thus endangering the security and sovereignty of the State and which is prejudicial to national Integration”.
The NIA alleged that Gogoi merged KMSS with Revolutionary Communist Centre (RCC) in 2009.
RCC later merged with CPI (Maoist), it alleges.
Akhil was arrested by Assam police on Thursday from upper Assam’s Jorhat district as a preventive measure, amid violent protests against the CAA across the state.
Gogoi was on Saturday booked under the UAPA by the NIA and flown in to Delhi by the central agency.
FIR has also been lodged against KMSS leaders Dhirjya Konwar, Manas Konwar and Bittu Sonowal.
The FIR further alleges all of them were part of the “Maoist conspiracy” and that the accused “knowingly abetted, conspired, advocated, incited the acts preparatory to commission of terrorist acts”.