Guwahati, Assam, March 26 (HBTV): A journalist of a digital news house in Assam has been arrested after being detained for over nine hours by the police after he questioned the managing director of a cooperative bank over alleged financial irregularities in the institution.

Dilwar Hussain Mazumder, chief reporter of 'The Cross Current', a digital news portal, was summoned to the Panbazar police station on Tuesday, March 25, and subsequently detained.

Mazumder, who is also the assistant general secretary of the Gauhati Press Club, was arrested after midnight under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including those pertaining to criminal intimidation or the act of threatening someone to harm them, and relevant sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the officials said.

The incident took place when the journalist asked the managing director questions as the Assam Jatiya Parishad's youth wing Jatiya Yuva Shakti on Tuesday, March 25, staged a dharna in front of the Assam Cooperative Apex Bank Ltd. to protest against alleged financial irregularities.

Strangely, the name of the complainant has not been mentioned in the arrest information report.

The complaint said the journalist’s remarks were made to intentionally insult, humiliate and offend the complainant, who is a Scheduled Tribe.

In Guwahati, the journalists’ fraternity launched protests over the arrest and questioned the Assam police over the nature of the arrest. The Assam police are yet to issue any official statement over this arrest.