Bitten by police officer: Assam Congress leader claims after scuffle during protest march

Youth Congress supporters chanted slogans at their ‘Dispur Gherao’ protest in Guwahati on Friday against the death of party leader Mridul Islam. | Photo Credit: ANI

A leader of the Congress’s Assam unit said he was bitten by a police officer during a protest rally in Guwahati on Friday (December 20, 2024).

Hundreds of Congress members clashed with the police on Wednesday against the death of advocate and party leader Mridul Islam. He died due to illness from the tear gas cell fired by the police in the ‘Raj Bhavan Chalo’ program to raise various local and national issues.

“We were stopped by the police while going to the complex to pay homage to Mridul Islam. An officer of the Assam Police Service dragged me and bit me on the shoulder, leaving a scar under the coat I was wearing,” said senior party spokesperson Ashwini Kumar Mahanta.

Demanding justice, the Congress shared a video of her narrating the incident and showing her “tightened up”. Mahanta said he knew the police officer but could not remember his name.

After the incident, he and several other Congress leaders were taken to the hockey stadium and detained.

‘The police took me to the hospital after repeated requests. The doctor gave medicine and injection. I asked the police to buy medicine because one of them gave me pain. They did not get me medicine but took me to the place where they detained me,” said Mahanta.

The police did not respond to his allegations. Senior police officials did not respond to calls or messages.

Congress state president Bhupen Kumar Borah is also among those arrested. Youth Congress National President Udaya Bhanu Chib was kept in ‘preventive custody’ at the hotel where he had checked in. Party members gathered outside the hotel said he was not allowed to leave for more than 16 hours.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Himanta Vishwa Sharma alleged that the Congress was trying to create unrest in Guwahati.

“For the past few days, the Congress has been trying to create a situation where the police will be forced to open fire. “There is a competition going on between two or three Congress leaders to become a big leader and in that competition, the people of Guwahati have been caught and demanded ransom,” he told reporters.

“The movement of political parties should be in the election box (EVM). They (Congress) want to create unrest but we will not allow that to happen,’ he said.