Anti-CAA unrest: Assam NSUI leader arrested in Guwahati

By: Syeda Ambia Zahan
GUWAHATI: The vice president of National Students' Union of India's (NSUI) state unit, Zubair Anam Mazumdar, was arrested on Friday for his alleged links with vandalism during the anti-CAA protests here on December 12.
The CID wing of Assam Police charged him with allegedly "attempting to wage war against the country" in a new case after finding out that Mazumdar had already obtained anticipatory bail in two cases of alleged vandalism inside the Srimanta Sankardeva Kalashetra registered with Dispur Police.
Mazumdar (30) was picked up from outside the Rajiv Bhawan, the state Congress headquarters here, soon after he came out of the building after addressing a press meet. He was taken to Dispur police station where he produced his bail papers. Hours later, the CID stepped in and booked him under a different case that was shown to have been registered last year.
Assistant commissioner of police Himanshu Das said, "He was evading interrogation after two cases were registered against him. Today, we met him in the ABC area and took him to the police station. Then he showed us that he has already has been granted bail from the Gauhati high court in those cases. Now, he will again be interrogated by the CID in another case registered against him."
NSUI leader charged with criminal conspiracy
The CID has also charged Mazumdar with criminal conspiracy, concealing with intent to facilitate design to wage war, causing grievous hurt to any person being a public servant in the discharge of his duty under the IPC and under the IT Act and for sending "offensive messages through a computer or any other communication device."
While he was being taken into the police vehicle, Mazumdar told the waiting media, "I am going to jail for raising voice my voice for my people. History will remember this. No one can mute our voice."
Last week, Assam Youth Congress president Kamrul Islam Choudhury, another alleged conspirator of the arson outside the state secretariat during anti-CAA protests, was arrested under different sections of the IPC relating to endangering life or personal safety of others, being armed while rioting, being a member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence and knowingly joining or continuing in assembly of five or more persons after it was commanded to disperse together with sections under Prevention of Destruction of Public Properties' Act.
A total of 197 cases have been registered against those indulging in violence on December 11, 12 and 13 in various parts of the state, including vandalism in the Srimanta Sankaradev Kalakshetra, a cultural centre in Guwahati. The Assam government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into the cases. Earlier, Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had accused NSUI of being involved in the violence by providing video footage to the media.
Speaking to TOI, Jyoti Bikash Changmai, president of NSUI, said, "If Zubair Anam Mazumdar is guilty of the charges against him, then law must punish him. But he should not be harassed if he is innocent. The investigation should be fair."
In the meanwhile, one more leader of the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, Hussain Mohammad Shahjahan, was interrogated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday in connection with the anti-CAA protests. The NIA summoned Shahjahan, who is adviser to the organization, to its Guwahati office and questioned him for hours.