Cong Worker's Death: Assam CM Orders Probe, Bans Protests Near Raj Bhavan

Assam Congress accused the BJP of murdering its legal cell secretary, Mridul Islam, saying he was the first martyr of the protest against the BJP.

Guwahati: A day after the death of a Congress worker during a public protest in Guwahati, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma ordered a thorough inquiry into the incident and said that no demonstrations will be permitted near Raj Bhavan henceforth.

"The institution of the Governor stands above partisan politics. Yesterday, Congress party leaders attempted to forcibly enter Raj Bhavan by breaching police barricades and causing chaos in the vicinity. The police will register an FIR and conduct a thorough inquiry into the incident, including a review of video recordings. Henceforth, no demonstrations will be permitted near Raj Bhavan. A designated area has already been allocated for protests and demonstrations," Sharma shared on X.

The institution of the Governor stands above partisan politics. Yesterday, Congress party leaders attempted to forcibly enter Raj Bhavan by breaching police barricades and causing chaos in the vicinity. The police will register an FIR and conduct a thorough inquiry into the…

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) December 19, 2024

A congress worker died on Wednesday when police fired tear gas shells at protesters during a 'Raj Bhavan Cholo' rally. The deceased, Mridul Islam, was the secretary of the legal cell of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC). Hailing from Boko, Islam was also an advocate. He collapsed during the shelling and later died at a hospital in Guwahati. Several journalists and camera persons covering the programme were also injured during the police action and were admitted to hospital.

It may be mentioned here that the opposition Congress organised the Rajbhavan Chalo rally across the country on Wednesday in protest of the installation of smart meters, the central government's refusal to discuss the Manipur mayhem in parliament, the allegations of corruption against the Adani Group, and the 'One Nation, One Election' Bill.

The Assam Congress, however, accused the BJP of murdering Islam saying he was the first martyr of the protest against the BJP.

Opposition Leader Slams Police

Debabrata Saikia, leader of the opposition in the Assembly, said the Union Home Ministry had issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) to deal with the dispersal of crowds during any demonstration or protest. "While the SOP mentioned several steps to deal with protest demonstrations and listed use of excessive force as the last resort, the Assam Police resorted to excessive force at the beginning of the protest," Saikia said, terming the police atrocities as "a new move by the government to gag any democratic protest or voice of dissent".

The Guwahati Press Club also staged a protest demonstration in its premises on Thursday against the atrocities by police which led to the injury of several journalists.