A local Congress leader died and at least eight journalists were allegedly injured after the police action at the Raj Bhawan Chalo protest held by the Congress party in Guwahati on Wednesday over the lack of parliamentary discussions on key issues. The police had reportedly set off at least three tear gas shells at the protest site.
The deceased Congress leader, Mridul Islam, an advocate and secretary of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee’s legal cell, died during treatment at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital. Three journalists, Pratidin Time’s senior reporter Amarendra Deka and cameraperson Ajay Sharma, and Prag News cameraperson Raju Borah were also taken to GMCH.
Deka told Newslaundry that the police fired tear gas while Assam Congress president Bhupen Borah was interacting with media persons. “It was not the kind of protest where police needed to use force or tear gas.” Borah later told the media that police “fired an excessive amount of tear gas without any provocation and virtually fired one at Islam’s face”.
Deka said that in 16 years of his journalistic career, he had covered many conflicts, “but what happened today was something I had never experienced before”. “While I was interviewing APCC president Bhupen Borah, the tear gas rolled into the area, and it burst near my feet. I was impacted the most. I have seen many violent protests in the past. But this one was not of that kind. It was not that big of a protest.”
The protest was a nationwide call by the Congress party to oppose the installation of smart meters and the BJP’s alleged refusal to address key issues in the parliament, including the Manipur crisis and controversies surrounding the Adani Group.
The Assam Congress unit lodged an FIR in the matter at Latasil Police Station, demanding an independent probe into the incident.
The Gauhati Press Club also issued a statement, “strongly condemning” the police action “of using tear gas shells on journalists” who were on duty. The statement said, “Visuals clearly show that the tear gas shells were used in places where the reporters and video journalists had gathered at the programme. Several journalists were injured and had to undergo treatment.”
The press body said that journalists have been “repeatedly falling victim to such incidents in the line of duty in different parts of the state”. It urged “the civil and police administration authorities to ensure no further recurrence of such incidents” and appealed to media persons to “wear black badge” on Thursday as a protest “of the repeated assault on journalists in the line of duty”.
Guwahati police commissioner Diganta Barah told Newslaundry that the police did not use physical force but rolled out three canisters of tear gas when the protesters “turned aggressive” and were “hardly 100 meters away from reaching the Raj Bhawan main gate”.
Barah said, “When these protesters broke the first human barricade, they were asked to stop marching towards Raj Bhawan. But they did not listen. The second barricade consisted of police officials and iron blocks, and the protesters tried breaking them. They turned aggressive and were hardly 100 meters from reaching the Raj Bhawan main gate. So, we used three cannisters of tear smoke. It was not fired but rolled using the hand.”
The police commissioner maintained that media persons were not targeted.
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