April 14: Assam police arrested Congress MLA Rumi Nath here today for her alleged dealings with Anil Chauhan, the kingpin of a car-theft racket.

Guwahati police commissioner Jyotirmoy Chakraborty told The Telegraph that Rumi, 34, was arrested from her official quarters at Dispur this morning and her medical examination and other formalities were being done.

Rumi, two-time MLA from Borkhola constituency in south Assam's Barak valley, was produced before the court of the chief judicial magistrate, Kamrup metro, Sanjay Hazarika, this afternoon who remanded her in police custody for 24 hours. The MLA was questioned by senior police officials at Dispur police station after her arrest.

"Though the police had sought her custody for three days, after hearing us, the court reduced it to 24 hours. She will be produced in the court again tomorrow at 2pm," Rumi's counsel Pranab Kumar Das said.

He said the court has directed the police to provide timely medical care to Rumi during police custody, as she was under treatment for a brain tumour.

Apart from Das, advocates Arshad Choudhury and Nayan Jyoti Das also appeared on behalf of Rumi.

While Rumi was produced in court today on the basis of a case (number 663/2015) registered on April 6 against her at Dispur police station after a youth organisation - Asomiya Yuva Mancha - filed an FIR for her alleged links with Chauhan, she was also arrested in connection with another case filed against Chauhan in Azara police station on April 3 after her name cropped up during investigation.

On April 7, four days after Chauhan's arrest, the police picked up Rumi's second but estranged husband, Jacky Jakir, for his role in dealing with stolen cars.

Sources said Jakir was arrested based on revelation made by Chauhan that he had sold a stolen BMW to Rumi, who reportedly had gifted it to Jakir on his birthday last year.

Jakir and Rumi's personal security officer Bedabrata Borpatragohain was also arrested on April 7, for his alleged links with Chauhan.

The police had recovered a photograph of Chauhan and his wife Rita with Rumi from the car thief's house at Cachal in Guwahati.

Rumi had married Jakir on April 13, 2013, after converting to Islam without divorcing her first husband, Rakesh Kumar Singh, a physician from Uttar Pradesh. Rumi has a daughter with Singh.

She admitted that she was married to Jakir in May 2013, after initially denying the relationship. Just after their marriage, Rumi and Jakir were attacked by a mob at a hotel in Karimganj, the crowd having taken umbrage to her conversion. She separated from Jakir, a son of a former deputy superintendent of police, last year.

Allegations flew thick and fast against Rumi and Jakir that they had received stolen vehicles from Chauhan. Rumi had also recommended Chauhan for car passes to the Assam Assembly, which is believed to have given him unhindered access to the high-security capital complex at Dispur.

Chauhan used be an autorickshaw driver in New Delhi and later worked as a driver on contract with various government offices in the national capital, before he took to the lucrative stolen car business in 1990, the police said today. He had started off with stealing Maruti 800s in Delhi and later "graduated" to smuggling the stolen vehicles to Nepal and the Northeast.

Delhi police first arrested Chauhan in 1991 but he got bail.

Meghalaya police arrested him from Silchar in Assam in 2010 but he again obtained bail and continued to steal cars.

Chauhan's gang is suspected to have been involved in the theft of over 4,000 vehicles from different parts of the country, including Delhi and Mumbai, the police said. There are at least 20 vehicle theft cases registered against Chauhan in Assam alone, police sources said.

In the Dispur police station case, Rumi has been charged under IPC 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), Section 212 (harbouring an offender), 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using a forged document or electronic record as genuine). The Azara police station case against Chauhan was registered under Sections 120(B) (criminal conspiracy) and 379 (theft) of the IPC, apart from Sections 25 (1-A) and 25(1-B) (a) of the Arms Act and Section 51 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act.

Rumi had appealed for anticipatory bail, which was rejected by Gauhati High Court on April 10. During the hearing, the public prosecutor had opposed her application for anticipatory bail saying car the theft racket led by Chauhan could have not just nationwide but international connections.

A few hours after her arrest, a section of people in her constituency - Borkhola - in south Assam's Cachar district staged a protest demanding her resignation from the Assembly.

♦ The crowd raised slogans against Rumi and burnt her effigy this evening to register their resentment towards the role of their elected representative in the case.

♦ "She has brought shame upon us all. We elected her to work for the interest of the constituency, but she has been involved in various controversies. Her link with a criminal has really demoralised the people of the constituency," said Abdur Sukkur Barbhuiya, 52, a resident of Borkhola.

♦A sweetshop owner, Arun Das, 35, demanded thorough probe into her involvement with Chauhan by a central agency to foil any sort of bias in the investigation. "As she belongs to the ruling party, there is a chance of biasness in the investigation that is being carried out by state police. A fair probe should be conducted," he added.

♦ A section of people cautioned Rumi not to visit Borkhola in the coming days even if she got bail.

♦ Even last month when Rumi had visited her constituency, she was forced to leave the area because public protest and anger.

♦ Opposition parties today asked the ruling Congress not to interfere with the investigation in the case.

♦ AGP president Atul Bora told The Telegraph that Rumi was arrested only because of mounting pressure by political parties and other organisations.

♦ The AGP yesterday accused the Tarun Gogoi government of protecting its MLA. The party was "wondering" as to why it took so long for the police to arrest Rumi. "We now only hope that the Congress government will allow the law to take its own course in case of Rumi Nath," Bora said.

♦ Hafiz Basir Ahmed Qasimi, leader of AIUDF Legislature Party, said the law was equal for the poor, rich as well as the powerful. "So, there should not be any exemption or leniency in case of Rumi Nath on the ground that she is an MLA. If she is guilty she should be punished," Qasimi said.

♦ Assam BJP spokesperson Rupam Goswami said Rumi's arrest has once again exposed the Congress leaders' involvement in criminal activities. "The Congress party has several leaders involved in corruption and criminal activities," Goswami said.

♦ Assam PCC president Anjan Dutta could not be contacted, party insiders said the party would not interfere with the law of the land citing the arrest to prove their point. "Her arrest shows the top brass is not interfering. The arrest would not have been possible without the nod of chief minister Tarun Gogoi or Anjan Dutta," he said.