Assam Oppn terms Cong worker’s death during protest a conspiracy

Opposition parties in Assam on Wednesday alleged that the death of a 45-year-old Congress worker “due to teargas smoke” during a protest in Guwahati was the result of a conspiracy, and demanded action against the "culprit".

The Congress declared the deceased, the party’s legal cell secretary Mridul Islam, as the “first martyr” of the anti-corruption movement.

The incident occurred during a protest march to Raj Bhavan over a range of issues, including unrest in Manipur and bribery charges against the Adani Group.

"It was a planned conspiracy to kill Mridul and scare the Congress. He is the first martyr in the fight against BJP's corruption. We did not create any law and order problem, so why were three (teargas) shells thrown at the same place?" Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah asked.

The protest was peaceful and democratic, but the "fascist BJP government intentionally killed" one Congress worker, he claimed, while speaking to reporters in Guwahati.

Islam felt suffocated when a tear gas cell fell near him, party spokesperson Bedabrat Bora claimed. He was first taken to a nearby private hospital and then to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), where he was declared dead.

Islam's body was later brought to the Congress state headquarters, where Borah demanded a judicial probe into the incidents leading to his death. "The Assam Congress is going to take all responsibilities of Islam's two children. I am going to speak to the central leadership and make an official announcement soon," he said after offering tributes to the departed party worker.

Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia claimed, "Before going to Raj Bhavan, we held a meeting at a nearby field. The police could have come and told us not to proceed. But we were not asked not to go to Raj Bhavan. Why? We were allowed to proceed and then we were attacked by the police." Congress MLA Jakir Hussain Sikdar asserted Islam was "murdered" and a thorough probe has to be carried out to find out the "culprits" behind this.

Commenting on the incident, Guwahati police commissioner Diganta Barah said, "The teargas shells were not fired. Police only rolled three shells on the road so that smoke would come out and people would disperse."

He claimed the magisterial inquest conducted on the deceased's body found no external injury and "the exact reason will be known only after the post-mortem examination report comes".

The Asom Sonmilito Morcha (ASOM), the Opposition bloc of over 15 anti-BJP parties, condemned the "brutal atrocities" committed by the police force of the Himanta Biswa Sarma government against the protesters. "The Assam Police exposed the government's repressive policy and fascist mentality by throwing tear gas at protesters and journalists in front of the Raj Bhavan today," it said in a statement.

ASOM president Ajit Kumar Bhuyan and general-secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi jointly accused the BJP-led government in the state of fuelling the fire of accumulated anger of the people with such "repressive actions". "Such arrogance of the government will be the main reason for its fall," they added.

Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi claimed there has never been a more cruel and condemnable incident in Assam than the death of a democratic protester by the police. "This is probably the first time that the state's largest Opposition political party has been tortured and one of their members was killed by police during a democratic protest," he added.

The MLA demanded a public apology from the chief minister and the resignation of the Assam Police DGP, besides seeking Rs 1 crore compensation for the victim's family.

CPI(M) Assam secretary Suprakash Talukdar said the party is shocked by the death of a protester in a "police attack" and condemned the act as the "ultimate consequence of police rule".

"The BJP government has been continuously attacking democratic movements in the state. The government of Himanta Biswa Sarma has given the police maximum power to suppress protests," he added. The CPI(M) state committee demanded immediate action against the police personnel responsible for the incident and proper compensation to the families of the deceased, Talukdar said.

AIUDF MLA Ashraful Hussain said the BJP-led NDA government does not know the language of democratic protest, resulting in the death of a young advocate and political worker. "The government must take full responsibility for the unfortunate incident and give a compensation of Rs 2 crore to the family. It must enquire about it and give assurance that such an incident will never happen again," he added.