Assam journalist’s arrest triggers protests against police highhandedness

A journalist of a digital news portal in Assam was arrested after being detained for over nine hours by the police, after he questioned the MD of a cooperative bank over alleged financial irregularities in the institution during a protest here, officials said.

Dilwar Hussain Mozumder was granted bail by the court of the Kamrup additional chief judicial magistrate on Wednesday evening, 26 March.

The arrest triggered widespread protests by mediapersons across the state, who demanded his immediate release.

The journalist was summoned to the Panbazar police station on Tuesday (25 March) afternoon and subsequently detained, officials said, adding that he was arrested later.

Mozumder, who is also the assistant general secretary of the Gauhati Press Club, was arrested after midnight under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including those pertaining to criminal intimidation, threatening harm and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, officials said.

The incident took place when the journalist asked questions of the MD of Assam Cooperative Apex Bank Ltd, as the Jatiya Yuva Shakti (JYS) group on Tuesday staged a dharna in front of the bank to protest alleged financial irregularities.

The JYS is the youth wing of the opposition Assam Jatiya Parishad.

Mozumder is the prime accused in the FIR filed by a complainant, whose name has not been mentioned in the arrest information report.

The complaint said the journalist’s remarks were made to intentionally insult, humiliate and offend the complainant, who belongs to a Scheduled Tribe.

The police report mentions that the offence is cognisable and non-bailable as per the provisions of the BNS and the SC/ST Act, leading to his immediate arrest, the officials said.

The arrest was necessary to prevent the accused from influencing the complainant or witnesses, ensuring a fair investigation and avoiding any tampering with evidence, according to the police.

Mozumder, who also filed a complaint with the police which is yet to be registered, alleged that a video recording of the protest was deleted inside the MD’s chamber and that he had also asked the scribe to ensure the demonstrations be stopped.

The journalist claimed that he pointed out that it was not possible for him to stop the protest as he was present at the venue to cover the event and was not associated with the protestors.

Mozumdar then posted on Facebook that he had been summoned by the police, but was not told the reason and his phone was later seized by the law enforcers.

His wife and lawyer were reportedly allowed to enter the police station only late on Tuesday, after repeated pleas for hours that Mozumder needed his medication.

The chief reporter of the digital portal the Cross Current was produced on Wednesday afternoon before the court of Kamrup additional chief judicial magistrate A.M. Muzzamil, who granted bail to the journalist against a surety of Rs 20,000.

As the court had closed when the order was made available to the journalist's lawyers, the surety amount could not be deposited.

Mozumder was subsequently remanded to judicial custody for the night and will be produced before the court on Thursday, 27 March, for the formalities to be completed for his release.

Several media organisations and opposition parties like the Congress, Raijor Dal and the Assam Jatiya Parishad condemned the arrest.

Mediapersons gathered at Gauhati Press Club, held a meeting to protest against the arrest and then took out a procession to the CJM's court. They were stopped by the police midway and a scuffle followed in which a few protestors sustained minor injuries.

Journalists then marched in groups to the CJM's court to extend solidarity with Mozumder.

Protests against his arrest were also held by media persons in several other places of the state — Jorhat, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh, Nagaon and Biswanath.

The Press Club of India (PCI), Gauhati Press Club (GPC) and the Assam Women Journalists' Forum (AWJF) have condemned the arrest and had demanded Mozumder's immediate release.

The PCI condemned the Assam Police’s highhandedness on the matter, particularly their refusal to inform his family and his colleagues on what grounds he was detained in the first place.

Preventing a journalist from carrying out his official duty is an infringement of the freedom of press guaranteed under Article 19 (1) (A) of the Constitution, it said.

The PCI also urged chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is also the state home minister, to look into the matter and ensure that the police respect the spirit of the SC/ST Act, while also taking into consideration that there must not be any false charges lodged against a reporter who was covering a corruption-related protest.

The GPC expressed concern about the growing intolerance of the state functionary against journalists merely carrying out their duties, and demanded that harassment of scribes be stopped immediately.

The AWJF termed the arrest an attack on press freedom as detaining a journalist for seeking answers on a matter of public interest raises serious questions about democratic principles.