Activists of All Assam Bengali Youth Students’ Federation burn the effigy of Tinsukia MLA Rajendra Singh in Dibrugarh on Thursday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Dibrugarh, Dec. 2: The All Assam Bengali Youth Students’ Federation today burnt effigies of Tinsukia Congress MLA Rajendra Prasad Singh across Assam alleging police inaction after the MLA physically assaulted one of its members, Ratan Dey, in front of the Tinsukia district Congress committee office on Monday.

Activists of the federation also received support of various political parties and non-political organisations during their demonstration today.

Apart from beating up 35-year-old Dey, who is an executive member of the Tinsukia district committee of the federation, the MLA’s alleged anti-Bengali remarks while beating up Dey has also sparked strong reaction from the organisation.

In Tinsukia, around 1,000 activists of the federation and members of various organisations like the All Assam Students Union, All Assam Moran Students Union, Muttock Jatiya Parishad, BJP, AGP, CPI(M-L), Hindu Yuba Parishad among others, assembled at the busy Thana Charali area and burnt the effigy of the MLA.

The federation members also displayed placards, banners and festoons against the MLA during the demonstration.

Mrinmoy Das, president of the Tinsukia district unit of the federation, said over telephone that today’s demonstration was only the beginning of a long and rigorous agitation. “We will observe Friday as a black day, and all our members will wear black badges to protest police inaction in arresting the notorious and guilty MLA. On December 6, we will stage a dharna in front of the Tinsukia deputy commissioner’s office and from December 7, we will start a massive wall-writing campaign against the misdeeds of the MLA,” Das said.

In Dibrugarh too, activists of the federation burnt the effigy of the MLA near the Marwaripatty police point area.

Tinsukia superintendent of police Diganta Bora denied the charges of police inaction in the case. Speaking over telephone, Bora said, “we are recording statements of various persons who witnessed the incident on Monday. The police are doing their job properly.”

Anil Raja, a senior Assam PCC leader, said in Guwahati this evening that the state unit president, Bhubaneswar Kalita, has sought a report on the incident from the district president Numal Borah.