Assam: Two more arrested in crackdown on ‘anti-nationals', says CM Himanta Sarma
Two more persons were arrested in Assam in a crackdown on alleged 'anti-national and communal elements', Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday.
With this, the number of arrests in such cases in the state since the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam increased to 90.
While Goalpara Police arrested Sanidul Islam for allegedly 'offensive social media posts on Lord Ram', Kamrup Police apprehended Saniur Rahman for 'inciting communal discord' through social media, Sarma said on social media.
The attack at Baisaran near Pahalgam town on April 22 left 26 persons dead and 17 injured. The terrorists targeted tourists after asking their names to ascertain their religion, the police said. All but three of those killed were Hindu.
Since the attack, the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Assam has been arresting persons accused of alleged 'anti-national' activities.
On June 1, the chief minister said that 81 'anti-nationals' were put 'behind bars for sympathising with Pakistan'.
On April 24, Sarma had said that the state would take action against anyone directly or indirectly defending the 'horrific, Pakistan-sponsored terror attack in Pahalgam'.
This came after Opposition All India United Democratic Front MLA Aminul Islam was arrested on sedition charges for claiming that the Pahalgam attack and the 2019 Pulwama attack may have been the results of conspiracies by BJP leaders.
Islam got bail in the sedition case on May 14, but was detained again under the National Security Act on the same day, PTI reported.
The Act allows for long periods of detention without trial and suspends important rights of the accused person, including the right to legal representation and immediate information about the cause of the arrest.
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