Assam Police accused of going after the Opposition

Assam Police, once a symbol of public safety, has increasingly become an instrument of political control for the state's ruling BJP, says a growing chorus of voices — from Opposition leaders to ordinary citizens.

When the BJP wrested power in 2016 and consolidated its hold in subsequent elections in 2021, it had  promised a crackdown on crime, insurgency, and corruption.

However, there are troubling allegations that Assam Police is being used as a political militia to suppress dissent and protect the ruling party’s interests. On 15 March, the police arrested Congress spokesperson Reetam Singh over a social media post criticising BJP leaders. Singh, who is a lawyer and vocal critic of the government, was taken into custody from his home in Guwahati following a complaint by the wife of BJP MLA Manab Deka for alleged defamation, and sections under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Assam Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, who witnessed the arrest, accused the police of brutality and claimed they denied him access to Singh, linking the timing to Union home minister Amit Shah’s visit to Assam that same day.

This incident has fuelled accusations that the police are acting on political orders rather than legal merit, in sharp contrast to police inaction against BJP workers who assaulted two Assam Police constables along with Congress MP Rakibul Hussain in broad daylight just days earlier. Gogoi’s assertion that the police are “bound to obey one person” — a veiled reference to chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma — echoes a broader sentiment that the autonomy of Assam Police has eroded.

The arrest of Reetam Singh, which was not necessary to investigate a defamation complaint according to several lawyers, questioning of journalists for social media updates on a Bihu dance event organised by the Assam government for a Guinness World Record, the arrest of a 19-year-old student for writing a poem ‘supporting ULFA-I’, Assam police travelling to Delhi to arrest Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera for a remark on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and questioning of YouTubers like Ranveer Allahbadia and Ashish Chanchlani show little regard for the rule of law.

Mahbubul Hoque, chancellor of University of Science & Technology (USTM) Meghalaya, targeted by Sarma, has been arrested in multiple cases on relatively minor and unproven charges, and has been in jail since February 2022, as fresh cases were registered after he was granted bail from the high court in two similar cases.

Hoque is said to have invited the chief minister’s wrath by not doing enough to stop a public meeting of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi during the Assam leg of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. The Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition, disallowed from entering Guwahati on the plea that it would disrupt traffic, addressed people on the highway on which USTM is located.

In many of these arrests, the pattern is similar: Assam Police are consistently not following standard legal procedures. Be it Mevani, Khera, Reetam or 18-year-old Barashashree Buragohain, the police often do not serve prior notices or search warrants, as required.

The BJP counters such criticism by saying that police action is necessary for restoring order in a state historically plagued by unrest, and holds up Amit Shah’s assertion that policing in Assam has shifted from “fighting terrorists” to being “people-centric”.

On his recent visit to the state, Shah had highlighted that over 10,000 youths laid down arms and rejoined the mainstream in the past decade, signalling a decline in insurgency-related violence. The conviction rate in the state has risen from 5 to 25 per cent in the past three years, claims chief minister Sarma. to showcase more effective policing.

However, Assam Police has also been accused of defying Gauhati High Court orders. Just days before Reetam Singh’s arrest, the high court observed that informing an individual of their arrest was not the same as communicating the grounds for the arrest, as mandated by the Supreme Court. The high court had directed the chief secretary and director-general of police (DGP) to ensure that in future, arrest notices under section 47 of the BNSS (2023) must clearly state the grounds for arrest, including full particulars of the offence and the basic facts necessitating the arrest. The direction does not appear to have been followed.

Assam Police also faced criticism for demolishing the homes of five men accused of setting fire to Batadrava police station in Nagaon district. The high court observed that using excavators and bulldozers to demolish houses “in the guise of investigation” is not provided for in any criminal law. “Such things [bulldozing as punishment] happen only in Rohit Shetty movies,” the HC said. “Send your SP’s story to director Rohit Shetty.”

Police encounters have further complicated the situation since the BJP’s second term began in 2021. A month after taking oath as chief minister, Sarma stated that shooting at criminals trying to escape should be a policing pattern. Predictably, the loaded statement encouraged police to go on a shooting spree. More than 200 police ‘encounters’ have been recorded since 2021, with over 80 killed and 180 injured — each case of firing described as self-defence by the police.

While a decline in insurgency and an increase in conviction rates are undeniable, the police is being increasingly deployed to shield the ruling party from criticism and punish detractors. The failure to act against BJP affiliates who attack police personnel while swiftly arresting Opposition members suggests a uniformed force more loyal to political masters than the rule of law.

Mahesh Deka is a Guwahati-based journalist and executive editor at Northeast Now. He can be reached at maheshdk3@gmail.com