Gorukhuti: The Assam police have arrested a photographer who was seen hitting a dead man during the firing incident at Gorukhuti in Darrang district on Thursday. The arrested has been identified as Bijay Bania, a professional photographer, who was hired by the Darrang district administration to document the eviction process.
The lensman's arrest comes after a purported video of the incident went viral on social media where he is kicking a dead man. In the video, the photographer is seen running behind a man in vest and lungi until the time police surrounded him and beat him with batons. Later, he can be seen desecrating the body of the man.
Read: Two killed in firing during protests against eviction in Assam
Assam DGP Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta said that Bijay was arrested Thursday and handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department of the state police. The team is trying to find out the reason behind the photographer's violent behaviour while police were still in action to control the situation, the officer said.
The incident happened when a team of civil administration officials accompanied by the security forces went to the Dhalpur area under Sipajhar police station to clear illegal encroachment there. According to the officials, about 77420 bighas of government land in the area had been illegally encroached for over two decades.
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According to reports, the locals numbering several hundred gathered in the area and shouted slogans against the state government and police when the officials reached the area to carry out the eviction process.
Protesters, armed with sharp weapons, pelted the police personnel and others present with stones following which police resorted to firing that resulted in the death of two and injuries to at least ten others, news agency PTI quoted Darrang Superintendent of Police Sushanta Biswa Sarma as saying on Thursday.
Taking to Twitter, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi condemned the police action, saying "Assam is on state-sponsored fire. I stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the state- no children of India deserve this."
