Man allegedly beaten for opposing Citizenship Bill in Hojai

Guwahati, October 28, 2018:

A person, opposed to the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and the settlement of “Hindu Bangladeshis” in Assam, was brutally beaten up by two close aides of BJP’s Hojai MLA, Shiladitya Dev, on October 23 in Hojai's Lanka,.

The victim, Murli Baruah, said, "On October 23, along with the entire state, I too was opposing the anti-Assamese Citizenship Bill. I had asked shopkeepers doing business on my private land to stop business for a day but some goons, who have political backing, attacked me.”

Baruah was rescued by the police but not before he was seriously injured in the assault.

The assailants were identified as Pappu Dey and Rabin Dutta. Both are said to be very close to the Hojai MLA.

The victim had filed an FIR in connection with the case but so far no arrests have been made by the police. The police said they were probing the matter.

It may be mentioned that on October 23, the people of Assam sent across a message, loud and clear, that they will not accept the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.

The entire state remained shut on the day during a 12-hour bandh called jointly by 46 organisations opposing the controversial bill which seeks to grant citizenship to the persecuted non-Muslim immigrants of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The protesting Assamese groups and organisations say through its move to pass the bill, the Narendra Modi government is trying to dump lakhs of “Hindu Bangladeshis” in Assam. The bandh coincided with a meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee which will submit the “final” report on the bill.

The protestors took to the streets damaging vehicles in Upper Assam and burning the effigies of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and BJP state president Ranjit Dass. They also chanted slogans against them and the BJP for imposing the immigrants on the people of Assam.

Train services were disrupted at many places as the protestors squatted on railway tracks. Shops and commercial establishment besides central government offices and educational institutes remained closed across the state. The bandh was “total” despite the state government’s threat to take action against truant employees and commercial establishment which would remain closed.