Guwahati: A day after a plastic water bottle was thrown at the convoy of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma during his visit to Golaghat, police on Tuesday detained six individuals in connection with the incident.
The episode has escalated into a political confrontation between the ruling BJP and the Congress.
Among those detained are several Congress workers, including Pallab Chetia, secretary of the Golaghat District Congress Committee, and Rahul Phukan, son of a former Block Congress secretary. Golaghat MLA Biswajit Phukan identified the two as close associates of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Gaurav Gogoi.
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“Throwing a two-litre bottle at the Chief Minister reflects the Congress party’s disruptive mindset. Their politics has long been rooted in chaos — from the Emergency to the 1983 elections,” said Phukan. He added that the Chief Minister had visited Golaghat with a development agenda, which, according to him, the Congress could not accept.
The incident, captured on video and widely circulated on social media, showed a plastic bottle being hurled at the Chief Minister’s convoy. No injuries were reported, and Sarma’s vehicle was not hit.
Terming it a “serious security breach,” Assam Power Minister Prasanta Phukan called for strict action. “This is a grave issue. It could have endangered the Chief Minister’s life. We urge a thorough review of his security arrangements,” he said. The BJP also organized a protest in Dibrugarh condemning the incident.
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Meanwhile, the Congress has claimed the episode is politically motivated. APCC senior spokesperson Rituporn Konwar said four Youth Congress members — Partha Sarathi Bora, Rupantar Tanti, Krishna Chutia, and Rahul Phukan — were “illegally detained.”
“These youth leaders were not even present at the protest site when the convoy passed. They were taken into custody an hour earlier during a peaceful demonstration against rising cattle thefts,” Konwar said. “How could they have thrown the bottle if they were already in custody? This seems like a move to suppress opposition voices.”