Assam has banned demonstrations near the Raj Bhavan

Police personnel fire tear gas at a Congress ‘Chalo Raj Bhavan’ protest on the Adani issue in Guwahati on December 18, 2024. Photo Credit: ANI

Guwahati

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma said on Thursday (December 19, 2024) that no demonstration will be allowed near the Governor’s residence in Guwahati. He made this announcement a day after the death of a Congress leader due to excessive tear gas firing during the party’s ‘Raj Bhavan Chalo’ movement.

“The institution of governorship stands above party politics. Yesterday (December 18, 2024) Congress party leaders broke through the police barricades and tried to force their way into the Raj Bhavan and created chaos around,” he said in a post on X, adding that the city has designated areas for protests and demonstrations. pointed out.

The Chief Minister also said that after analyzing the video recording, the police will file a First Information Report (FIR) and conduct a thorough investigation into the incident.

Hours after Mridul Islam died of tear gas injuries, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee lodged an FIR at Latasil police station in the city seeking an independent probe into the incident and action against the police officers responsible for his death. The party has also demanded compensation to the families of the deceased party workers.

A lawyer by profession, Mr. Islam was the secretary of the party’s legal cell and a resident of Boko in southwestern Assam. Some journalists were injured in the incident.

Members of the Guwahati Press Club on Thursday wore black badges and protested the firing of tear gas “in an area where journalists had gathered for a political event”.

State Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah, who was injured in Wednesday’s protest, accused the police of killing Mr Islam and declared him a “martyr” of the party’s “war against the corrupt BJP-led government”.

Other political parties, such as Akhil Gogoi’s Raijor Dal, also said the state government had unnecessarily used excessive force to kill Mr. Islam.