Biswa Kalyan Purkayastha
Dec 18, 2024 09:39 PM IST
Guwahati police commissioner Diganta Barah, denied the Congress’s allegations, insisting that the cause of Islam’s death was still unknown
SILCHAR: A 45-year-old Congress worker Mridul Islam died after participating in a protest march to Raj Bhavan in Guwahati, prompting the Opposition to blame alleged excessive force and tear gas used by the police for his death.
The Assam Congress has filed a complaint against the police personnel with the local police, linking Mridul Islam’s death to the use of tear gas shells by the police. The party said Islam was a lawyer by profession and a member of the State Congress Legal Cell of the Congress party.
Assam Congress general secretary Bipul Gogoi said the state police acted without any provocation and used tear gas “that was not only excessive but also indiscriminate, affecting everyone in the vicinity, including elderly people, children, and individuals with respiratory conditions.”
The state Congress said the police assaulted many protesters who were already struggling due to the tear gas and Mridul Islam was one of them.
“It is clear that the actions of the Assam Police directly led to his tragic death. This FIR is being filed to request that immediate and strict action be taken against the responsible police personnel for their excessive and unlawful use of force, which directly caused the death of an innocent citizen,” Gogoi said in his complaint.
Guwahati police commissioner Diganta Barah, denied the allegations, insisting that the cause of Islam’s death was still unknown.
“It is true that he fell ill while protesting and later died in GMCH during treatment, but it’s too early to draw conclusions regarding the cause of death. Let the postmortem report come,” Barah said.
According to news agency PTI, the city police commissioner said the magisterial inquest did not find any external injury on Islam’s body.
Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah condemned the police’s actions and declared Mridul Islam the first martyr of their agitation. He also said that Congress lawmakers would raise the issue in Parliament.
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