Brother of arrested Assam journalist held on land grabbing charge

The brother of an Assam journalist, who was arrested recently while covering a protest, was apprehended in Hojai district on Tuesday on various charges, including land grabbing, an officer said. Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma alleged that the entire family was connected with illegal land brokering.

Taibur Rahman Mozumder was arrested on the basis of a case with charges of land grabbing, forgery and criminal breach of trust, Hojai district superintendent of police Saurabh Gupta told PTI. He has been taken to Hojai police station, the police officer added.

The accused is the brother of senior journalist Dilwar Hussain Mozumder, who was arrested by Guwahati Police last week in connection with two back-to-back cases filed by a bank employee and its managing director, when he had gone to cover a protest against an alleged scam in Assam Cooperative Apex Bank. He has secured bail in both cases.

The arrest of Mozumder, who is also the assistant general-secretary of Gauhati Press Club, had led to protests across the state as well as in various parts of the country, questioning the legitimacy of police action against an on-duty scribe.

Asked about his brother's arrest on the sidelines of a programme in Biswanath district, the chief minister alleged that the entire family is linked with illegal land brokering.

“Dilwar’s brother is a known illegal land broker. He was arrested in 2021 also and police filed a charge-sheet against him. Even after that, he continued to work as a teacher in a government school. He was not even suspended. It shows the penetration of their network,” the chief minister said.

Sarma, who had earlier claimed that Mozumder was not a ‘recognised’ reporter as per the government norms, once again asserted that he is a businessman rather than a journalist.

“Dilwar is a businessman who is in the dumper business. He has no ability or character of a journalist. Ask the people of Hojai, and they will tell you that the entire family is known for illegal land brokering,” the chief minister added.