Congress spokesperson Reetam Singh was arrested in Guwahati on Saturday after a BJP lawmaker’s wife accused him of defaming her husband and father, prompting the Opposition party to alleged “misuse” of the police by chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

The arrest came on a day Union home minister Amit Shah was in Assam to inaugurate the Lachit Barphukan Police Academy in Dergaon, 280km from Guwahati.

Reetam, an advocate and a staunch critic of the ruling BJP, was arrested after MLA Manab Deka’s wife lodged a complaint relating to a March 13 post from the Congress spokesperson’s X handle, a police officer told The Telegraph.

The post claimed Deka had become an MLA “only because his father-in-law was a tax commissioner, who is respected in Lakhimpur”. Deka is a first-time MLA from Lakhimpur.

“The complainant said the post defamed both her husband and her father. Since the father of the complainant belonged to the SC community, we have lodged the case under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, besides the defamation law and the IT Act,” the officer said.

Reetam, arrested by Lakhimpur police, was being brought from Guwahati to Lakhimpur, he added.

The Lakhimpur team arrived at Singh’s Guwahati home around 8.30am but was not allowed in because it did not have an arrest warrant.

Reetam began posting on X about the development, prompting Congress members to arrive at his home. He was arrested at about 1.30pm after the police produced a document relating to the grounds of arrest.

Gauhati High Court had this month directed the state government to ensure that law-enforcement agencies properly communicated the grounds of arrest when arresting someone without a warrant.

In one of his posts preceding his arrest, Reetam said: “A team of @lakhimpurpoliceof @assampoliceis here to apprehend me without warrant and notice. I showed them the recent Gauhati High Court Judgement making it compulsory for police to give Notice.”

He added: “Any arrest of mine without Warrant and Notice will be contempt of Justice Mridul Kumar Kalita Judgement dated 07/03/2025 in Sakib Chowdhury Vs State of Assam in Bail Appln./629/2025.”

He further posted: “I am an Advocate and I will comply with any investigation. But I wont go with Police if they are here without arrest or warrant simply on instructions of @himantabiswa Everything has been recorded on CCTV Cameras. You cannot barge into my home without a search warrant.”

Reetam had also been arrested in April last year on the charge of circulating a “distorted” video of Shah and alleging that the “BJP will end SC-ST-OBC reservation in India if it comes to power....”

State Congress legislature party leader Debabrata Saikia said Reetam had been arrested because of his sustained criticism of the Assam government.

“His arrest under the SC/ST Act and defamation is just to harass him and intimidate other Congress members against speaking out against the current government. This shows how our police is acting as a political agent of the ruling party,” Saikia alleged.

Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi, who visited Reetam’s home, later tweeted about how the party spokesperson “was brutally dragged away and was not allowed to speak to me”.

“Home Minister Amit Shah is in Assam inaugurating a police academy. I want to ask him if he is aware of the misuse of police under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma,” Gogoi posted on X.

“Is Home Minister Amit Shah aware that BJP thugs have brutally beaten up two Assam constables in broad daylight a few days ago and yet they have not been arrested.”

Reetam had on March 13 also tweeted about the conviction of three people for a rape that occurred in Dhemaji district in 2021.

He had then asked: “These culprits got the punishment they deserved. But what @BJP4Assam r@pe accused Ministers and MLAs like Manab Deka, Ex Party President Bhabesh Kalita, ex Minister Rajen Gohain? Is the law equal for all?”