Photographer arrested for desecrating killed protestor's body in Assam

Guwahati: Assam's Director General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta said that they have arrested a man namely Bijoy Bonia who was seen in a video desecrating the body of a protestor killed in police firing during an eviction drive in the Sipajhar area of Darrang district.

The DGP said that the accused who is a photographer of the deputy commissioner's office is in CID's custody. Earlier the police had said the Assam Criminal Investigation Department has registered a case against him.

The DGP was visiting the district on Thursday night to review the law and order situation and announced that the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) will probe the incident.

"Some facts have come to light while there are many that are yet to be unraveled. The CID will investigate all the aspects," PTI quoted DGP saying

Meanwhile, a 12-hour bandh called by a body of various organisations representing the minority community to protest the death of two persons during the eviction drive affected normal life in Darrang district on Friday.

Quoting a police officer, PTI reports that no untoward incident has been reported so far in the bandh called by the All Minority Organisations Coordination Committee, which includes the All Assam Minority Students Union (AAMSU) and the Jamiat-e-Ulema among others.

All business establishments remained closed and very few vehicles plied the roads as the bandh started at 5 AM on Friday.

A Congress delegation, comprising its state chief Bhupen Bora, Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora, deputy leader of Congress Legislature Party (CLP) Rakibul Hussain, and other senior leaders, staged a protest against the incident outside the Darrang deputy commissioner's office in district headquarters Mangaldoi.

The delegation was also scheduled to submit a memorandum to Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi through the deputy commissioner, party spokesperson Bobbeeta Sharma said.

The state government has announced a judicial inquiry into the incident by a retired Gauhati High Court judge whose name is yet to be declared.

Eleven seriously injured people, of whom three were policemen and the rest civilians, were shifted to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) late on Thursday night, its superintendent Abhijit Sharma said.

A policeman and three civilians were stated to be critical, while the condition of the remaining people was stable although they were under observation, he said.

Meanwhile, the BJP on Friday alleged that "third party political and apolitical forces" including Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) could be behind instigating protesters to attack Assam Police personnel during an eviction drive in Darrang district. "At Gorukhuti, we have observed a pattern similar to the PFI's way of functioning. The outfit aims to only create unrest," PTI quoted local BJP MP Dilip Saikia saying

He said that other "political and apolitical organisations" could also be behind the incident and the facts will gradually be unravelled during investigation.

BJP state chief Bhabesh Kalita claimed that there was a "pre-planned move" to gather people from outside and attack the police.

"Doubtful citizens are being evicted and the BJP is fully behind the state government's drive," he added.

On Thursday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said that the ongoing eviction drive will not be stopped and the police entrusted with the job of clearing the land of "illegal encroachers" will continue to do so till the job was done.

The Darrang district administration has so far cleared 602.4 hectares of land and evicted 800 families since Monday and demolished four 'illegally' constructed religious structures at Sipajhar.

The chief minister had visited the area on June 7 and inspected the riverine areas allegedly encroached by ''illegal settlers'' near Dholpur Shiva temple and directed the district administration to clear the area for setting up the community farming project.