AGENCIES

The Assam Police on Tuesday booked All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MLA for sedition and other offences for allegedly making provocative, communal and false statements on Covid-19 and the treatment of patients in the state.

Police said Aminul Islam, MLA from Dhing in central Assam was picked up from his residence on Monday night and arrested Tuesday morning after interrogation.

He had allegedly stated in an audio clip doing rounds in social media that there was a conspiracy to target a particular community in the garb of Covid-19 and those in quarantine could be killed.

“Islam has been arrested under several sections of IPC for charges including criminal conspiracy, spreading disaffection amongst communities etc,” Assam’s Director General of Police (DGP) Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta said.

Islam was produced in a local court in Nagaon on Tuesday and was sent to judicial custody for 14 days.

A government release stated that Islam was arrested because of “communal and false comments” made in the clip.

He has been booked under sections 120(B)-criminal conspiracy, 124A-sedition, 153A-promoting enmity on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language etc. and 295A – deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings.

“We have seized his personal digital accessories (PDAs) and are processing them as per law. We have found several clippings in his mobile, which we will have to test digitally,” the DGP said.

In the past few days Islam has posted several posts on social media platforms questioning the government’s handling of the Covid-19 patients and those who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi last month.

There are at present 28 positive Covid-19 cases in Assam and 26 of them are linked to the Tablighi Jamaat event.

The patients are being treated at several government hospitals across Assam. Many others who came in contact with them have been kept in quarantine facilities.