Guwahati (Assam) [India], December 20 (HBTV): Indian Youth Congress (IYC) President Uday Bhanu Chib and several national and state office bearers were detained by Assam Police. The leaders, who had gathered at a city-based hotel in the region, were reportedly not allowed to leave the premises, and security personnel were deployed in large numbers around the hotel.

"This morning, I and other Youth Congress colleagues were detained from a hotel in Guwahati as if we were terrorists. Our mobile phones have been confiscated. We came here to seek justice for martyr Mridul Islam, but the murderous Assam Police will not accept this," said a post from the IYC President's office.

The IYC has accused the Assam Police of taking their leaders into preventive custody as they planned to protest against the death of Congress worker Mridul Islam.

"What is Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma hiding who got Congress worker Mridul Islam murdered? Under which law were they arrested like terrorists after barging into the hotel at 5 in the morning?" a post from the IYC quoting Uday Bhanu Chib said.

Islam died during a Raj Bhawan Cholo protest organized by the Assam Congress on December 18. The Youth Congress also intended to stage a protest against the remarks made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.

The incident has sparked widespread condemnation, and the Assam Pradesh Congress organized a demonstration in Guwahati to protest against the actions of the police.

Meanwhile, Assam police have registered a Suo-moto case in connection with the law and order situation that arose during the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee's Raj Bhawan Cholo protest on December 18, a senior police official said.

"Guwahati City Police registered a suo-moto case in connection with the law and order situation that arose during the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee's Raj Bhawan Cholo on December 18," Diganta Barah, Commissioner of Police, Guwahati said.

The East Police District of Guwahati has also issued a prohibitory order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, in the Dispur area, enforcing strict restrictions on public gatherings.

In an official order, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, East Police District, has prohibited the assembly of more than five persons, along with any agitation, demonstration, procession, or slogan-shouting within a 1 km radius of the Capital Complex in Dispur.

The prohibitory order, which came into effect on December 19, mandates that any such activities in the area will require prior permission from the competent authorities. Security personnel have been deployed in large numbers to ensure the enforcement of these regulations.   

(ANI)