assam-cong-leaders-bailed-after-arrest-deny-planned-protest

Top Congress leaders in Assam, including state chief Bhupen Kumar Borah, who were detained earlier on Friday while en route to attend a memorial for a deceased party worker, were released in the evening.

The detentions, which sparked protests from party members, were carried out by the police, who claimed the action was necessary to prevent the opposition from staging protests.

However, the Congress denied any intention to carry out an agitation that day, stating that their only agenda was a peaceful prayer meeting.

The arrests came as Congress leaders, including national youth wing chief Uday Bhanu Chib, were travelling to participate in a memorial for party worker Mridul Islam, who died during a ‘Raj Bhawan Chalo’ protest on Wednesday.

The protest had been organised over several issues, including the unrest in Manipur and allegations of corruption involving the Adani Group. The Congress party, however, clarified that no protests were planned for Friday.

“Our IYC president is flying back to New Delhi as per his original schedule,” said state Youth Congress president Zubair Anam, referring to Chib’s release.

Chib, who had arrived in Guwahati on Thursday, was initially placed under preventive detention at a city hotel.

Meanwhile, several other leaders, including Borah and former chief minister Ripun Bora, were arrested from various locations as they were on their way to the memorial meeting at the party’s office in Dispur.

Police claimed that a ‘Dispur gherao’ programme had been planned, but Anam firmly denied this, stating, “Our ‘Dispur gherao’ programme was postponed after Islam’s death. We had only planned the all-faith prayer meeting.”

Despite the party’s claims, Congress workers gathered outside the hotel in protest, accusing the police of restricting Chib’s access to his lawyer and seizing his mobile phone.

Youth Congress members, angered by the detentions, clashed with the police and broke through barricades before being taken into custody.

"We had no agitation planned," Anam said, expressing frustration over the heavy security measures and arrests.

 

“But heavy security deployment to thwart any democratic protest angered us, and we came to the streets to protest it,” he added.

Later in the evening, all arrested leaders were released on PR bonds, including Borah and other senior Congress figures who had been detained earlier in the day.