On a visit to Assam on February 19, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra released a 20-point “People’s Chargesheet” against the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led BJP government. This Monday, the Assam police found four Congress workers carrying a large number of these leaflets, intended for distribution as part of the party’s assembly poll campaign. The four were arrested and slapped with Section 152 of the BNS, a charge similar to “sedition” under the IPC. Their bail has been denied.
The four Congress workers – Rakibul Hoque Khan, Akshay Bordoloi, Joynal Abedin and Pranjit Pator – were detained by police in Guwahati in the early hours of Monday.
Guwahati East DCP Tabu Ram Pegu said the police were alerted about a dispute over the entry of a truck into a housing society in the city, and when they checked the vehicle, they found “around 10 lakh printed leaflets”, which “had allegations against our honourable chief minister”, stocked for “large-scale distribution.” He cited the “sensitive election time”, and “law and order ramifications and provocative nature” to arrest the men and register a case against them.
The case, filed on the basis of a complaint by a police sub-inspector, includes charges under several sections of the BNS, including acts that endanger the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India; false statement in connection with an election; promoting enmity between different groups; statements conducing to public mischief; and criminal conspiracy.
The “chargesheet” released by the Congress accuses Sarma and his ministers of corruption and protecting activities from illegal rat-hole mining to illegal transportation of Burmese supari and drugs. It claims that they and their families had amassed wealth in this manner, blames them for betraying promises made to Scheduled Tribes, accuses them of indulging in “bulldozer justice” against minorities, and ramping up police encounters.
The complaint based on which the FIR was registered states that the contents are “not in the nature of fair comment, ordinary political criticism, or lawful democratic dissent” and that they are instead “couched in a form designed to sensationalise, inflame passions, provoke public unrest, and disturb the atmosphere immediately preceding the forthcoming Assam state election”.
Pointing to the number of leaflets the four possessed, the complaint states, “The scale of the operation itself rules out any casual or isolated act and prima facie suggests a systematic campaign to spread falsehood, incitement and public mischief on a mass scale across the state of Assam.”
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The Congress has said the four men are their workers and were transporting printed copies of the “chargesheet” for subsequent distribution.
“The Chief Minister was so frightened by a few sheets of paper that he had them confiscated by the police. The BJP has failed to fulfil promises made to the people of Assam. The chargesheet highlighting the failures of the ruling party has been seized. Is this the strength and courage of Himanta Biswa Sarma?” APCC president Gaurav Gogoi said.
“Is the Assam police owned by the BJP? If they do whatever the BJP asks of them, then tomorrow, if we put out banners and posters during our campaign, they will again use the Assam police,” said Assam Mahila Congress president Mira Borthakur.
The bail petition by the four men was rejected by a court in Guwahati, and they were first remanded to three-day police custody and then to judicial custody.
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In the court of the Special Judicial Magistrate First Class, Kamrup (M), on March 9, when the bail petition of the four was presented and police argued for custody, the counsel for the accused argued that the leaflets were “legitimate political propaganda” and “democratic criticism of the ruling government”, and that the case is “politically motivated”. The counsel argued against the application of Section 152, arguing that it had been wrongfully invoked.
The court decided not to apply its discretion on the question of Section 152 and rejected their bail petition, pointing to the “nascent stage” of investigation into the case.
Stating that the allegations “prima facie disclose organised activity,“ the court ordered, “The investigation at this stage requires identification of other persons who may have participated in the printing, financing and dissemination of such materials. In such circumstances, custodial interrogation of the accused persons appears necessary for effective and meaningful investigation.”
Assam Congress spokesperson and lawyer Aman Wadud said that the men are currently in judicial custody, to which they were sent after they were produced before the court again on March 11.
