Assam journo quizzes bank MD over irregularities, held for abusing guard
Dilwar Hussain Mozumder was arrested under the stringent Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for allegedly abusing an unnamed guard
A journalist from Guwahati has been arrested under the stringent Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for allegedly abusing an unnamed guard of the Assam Cooperative Apex Bank (ACAB) while covering a protest over allegations of irregularities against the bank.
A video clip Dilwar Hussain Mozumder shared on social media before his arrest on Tuesday showed him asking the bank’s managing director (MD), Dambaru Saikia, questions regarding a recruitment scam. Saikia refused to answer questions and instead called the police, who detained and later arrested Mozumder.
In a social media post, Mozumder said he went to the bank for information regarding corruption. “They cannot muzzle my voice. I have been detained at Panbazar police station. I questioned the MD of Apex Bank regarding the corruption allegations....”
Saikia said Mozumder followed him and forcibly entered his office. “Our security guard said that the person abused him, naming his community. Another officer said that the person tried to steal important documents. This created a law and order situation, so we called the police,” he said.
Mozumder’s family said he was detained for hours before his arrest.
Police said Mozumder has also been charged under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita’s Section 351-2 (criminal intimidation). The First Information Report filed in the case cited the unnamed complainant’s statement and said it established Mozumder verbally abused him using offensive and derogatory remarks. Police quoted Mozumder, allegedly referring to the Bodo community and telling the guard he was overreacting.
Police said the emotional and psychological distress the complainant faced, the violation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and tampering of evidence were the grounds for Mozumder’s arrest.
Mozumder’s lawyers called his arrest undemocratic and said his rights were violated. They said they were moving court for bail. The lawyers said that the charges against Mozumder are bailable and provide for punishment below seven years. They added police did not issue a notice before detaining Mozumder or allow him to meet his family or lawyers during the detention in violation of his rights.
The arrest of Mozumder, who works for a local news channel, sparked protests. The Guwahati Press Club (GPC) condemned it and staged a protest on Wednesday, calling the arrest deeply concerning. It appealed to the authorities to uphold freedom of the press.
Sanjay Ray, GPC general secretary, said they demand Mozumder’s unconditional release. He added the protest would continue until the demand is fulfilled. “We believe in law, and the process of challenging the arrest in the court is happening. We are protesting here because of the unconstitutional process of arrest, and we will continue this until justice is served,” he said. Protesting journalists raised slogans against the police.
The Press Club of India (PCI) backed the GPC and condemned the arrest process, saying the police did not cite the complainant’s name or specify where exactly the incident took place.
“PCI condemns the Assam Police’s highhandedness on the matter, particularly refusal to inform his family and his colleagues on what grounds he was detained in the first place. Preventing a journalist from carrying out his official duty is a grave infringement of the freedom of press that is guaranteed under Article 19 (1) (A) of the Constitution,” the PCI said in a statement.
PCI urged the Assam government and chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to look into the matter with all sincerity, and ensure that the police respect the true spirit of the law he was arrested under. It asked him to take into consideration that there must not be any false charges against Mozumder, who belongs to a backward, minority community, and was covering a sensitive corruption-related protest as part of his routine job.
