Silchar, April 5: Members of Hindu Samhati, a right-wing group, last night gheraoed the residence of Debopriya Shome, a Silchar resident and a student of Jadavpur University in Calcutta, for raising pro- azadi slogans in the university recently.

Sources told The Telegraph that on finding Shome's grandmother present at the house at that time, they allegedly threatened her to ask her grandson not to come back to his hometown ever again. His parents were not present at home last night.

Shome is studying international relations at the university.

The controversy has gone viral on social media as many users, allegedly belonging to right-wing groups, have called Shome "anti-national" and posted objectionable comments on Facebook targeting him and his parents.

Shome said, "I did not raise any anti-national slogans. The act by Hindu Samhati members was nothing but a fascist step. My statement was misinterpreted. I have been getting threatening and abusive phone calls since then."

Sanjib Nath, a member of the Silchar unit of Hindu Samhati, said, "Anti-national elements have no right to stay in the country. Shome will face serious trouble if he comes back to Silchar."

The secretary of ABVP state committee, Monoj Kanti Das, said Shome by his pro- azadi slogans has insulted the country's democracy. He said giving anti-national statements has become a trend. Terming the act by Shome as a "publicity stunt", he said raising such slogans is nothing but a cheap trick to gain attention. "Kanhaiya Kumar, who had tried a similar stunt in Jawaharlal Nehru University, is a perfect example of that."

The secretary of the ABVP Silchar unit, Kaberi Nag, said: "Slogans against the country cannot be tolerated and if someone does that, we will not be silent."

Vice-president of the Cachar district unit of NSUI, Raja Laskar, said: "Having a different political ideology is a private matter and his parents do not have much role to play. Hence, it is not right to target Shome's parents."

The president of SFI's Cachar district committee, Gulzar Zakaria, said what the members of ABVP and Hindu Samhati had done was "undemocratic".

Dipankar Shome, the boy's father, told The Telegraph they did not want to drag this issue anymore. He refused to comment on the act by the Hindu Samhati members. He said he had talked with a few members of the group and the matter had been somewhat resolved.