Congress leader among two held for Dibrugarh violence

DIBRUGARH: Police on Thursday arrested two persons in connection with an act of vandalism carried out during a Muharram procession in the town on Tuesday. The arrested persons have been identified as Fulkan Hussain (24), a resident of Mirzabaug, and Javed Akhtar Khan alias Azad Khan (57) of Panchali area. Khan is the general secretary of the Dibrugarh district Congress unit, general secretary of Dibrugarh Boga Baba Majhar and president of the local Diamond Sporting Club.

The duo have been booked under Section 120/B (criminal conspiracy), Section 34 (criminal acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intentions), Section 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty thousand rupees and above) and Section 431 (mischief by injury to public road, etc) of the IPC.

On Tuesday, while a Tazia procession was passing through the RKB Road and HS Road area of Dibrugarh town, a few people, who were part of the procession, suddenly turned violent, damaging several private vehicles parked on the roadside. According to local residents, the cops, who were on duty, remained mute spectators as they found themselves outnumbered by the miscreants. The act of vandalism was caught on CCTV cameras and several onlookers also recorded the incident on their mobile phones. The clips later went viral on social media. A case was later registered at the Dibrugarh police station.

"We have so far arrested two persons in connection with the incident. The others have also been identified through video footage. No one will be spared and legal action will be taken against them. Disciplinary action will also be taken against police personnel if there is any lapse on their part. We also appeal to the public not to spread any rumours. Peace and harmony should not be affected," Dibrugarh SP Subashini Sankaran told the media.

Tension prevailed in the town on Thursday following the arrest of Javed Akhtar Khan. As soon as the news of his arrest spread, around 300-400 people from the Muslim community marched to the Dibrugarh police station and staged a dharna in front of the gate demanding his release.

Dibrugarh DC Pallav Gopal Jha then arrived at the police station along with the SP. With the situation becoming tense with every passing minute and fearing an outbreak of violence, the Army was put on standby. A section of Khan's supporters also forcibly shut down shops in New Market and Cole Road area of the town. Police were deployed in those areas to prevent any untoward incident.

The arrested persons were produced before the Dibrugarh district and sessions court and granted bail.