No journalist arrested, digital portal scribes not recognized: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday claimed that police did not arrest any scribe and asserted that digital journalists are not recognised by the state government. 

The state government's Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) does not officially recognise journalists working for portals or YouTube channels as recognised or accredited mediapersons, the CM said when asked about the arrest of digital journalist Dilwar Hussain Mozumder at a press conference here.

The state government does not provide them with registrations, advertisements or identity cards and "they do not qualify as journalists according to our norms," Sarma said.

'There has been no discussion on this issue and even the portals have not approached us for recognition', he added. 

'The arrested person is not a recognised reporter as the government only gives identity cards to journalists of print and electronic media', he said. It is yet to be established whether 'he is a businessman as he himself posted on Facebook that he owns dumpers or a part-time journalist', Sarma added. 'Nobody has been arrested for writing in the state. 

Also Read: Japan downgrades Assam’s travel advisory to Level-I: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Journalists write against me all the time but they have not been arrested', the CM claimed. He asserted that Mozumder has not been arrested for his writing and none of the cases against him are related to journalism. 

Regarding Mozumder's release, Sarma said if media associations are prepared to take responsibility for the cases against him, 'then he will be immediately released'. 

Sarma later posted on 'X' that it has come 'to my notice that some media houses have reported the arrest of a journalist by Assam Police. I would like to clarify that Assam Police has not arrested any journalist in recent times'. 

Mozumder, who is also the Assistant General Secretary of the Gauhati Press Club, was first arrested on Tuesday midnight under Section 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for criminal intimidation or the act of threatening someone to harm them or force them to do something, read with relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. 

He was granted bail for a surety of Rs 20,000 but was rearrested on Thursday in a second case filed by the Managing Director of the Assam Cooperative Apex Bank Limited D Saikia on Tuesday, which was not disclosed to his family and lawyers earlier, for allegedly attempting to steal valuable bank documents.