A city-based journalist, arrested on Tuesday night based on a complaint lodged by the security guard of a bank he was covering for alleged financial mismanagement, was granted bail on Wednesday evening.
Journalist Dilwar Hussain Mozumdar, works with the digital media outlet, The Cross Current.
The complaint against the journalist was lodged by Sishupal Boro, a security guard, who accused Hussain of using derogatory remarks against him during the protest on Tuesday.
Mozumdar was arrested after nearly 11 hours of detention at the Pan Bazar police station.
The Jatiya Yuva Shakti, the youth wing of the regional Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), had staged the protest against alleged financial irregularities in the Apex Bank headquarters here. Their demand was to seek a high-level inquiry and strict action against those responsible for the alleged mismanagement.
Despite securing bail, Mozumdar spent the night in custody because bail formalities could not be completed, his counsel Santanu Borthakur said.
Since the city police registered another FIR, based on a complaint by the MD of the Assam Co-operative Apex Bank Ltd, his release will depend on the progress in the new case, an advocate said.
In the FIR registered on the complaint of the bank guard, Mozumdar’s wife, Farnaj Riya Choudhury stated that Mozumdar was “the prime accused named in the FIR, directly involved in the commission of the alleged offense in the instant case”.
The notice of the grounds of arrest also stated that the FIR and the complainant’s statement “clearly establish that the accused verbally abused the complainant using offensive and derogatory remarks along the lines of: ‘Being a Bodo, you are doing too much,’ which was intended to demean and insult the complainant”.
Journalists’ solidarity
Mozumdar’s arrest triggered protests by journalists all over the state, including Guwahati and Jorhat, with the Gauhati Press Club (GPC) expressing concern about the “growing intolerance” towards journalists. The association demanded the immediate release of Mozumdar and called for an immediate halt to the harassment of journalists.
The Editors Guild of India (EGI) also expressed concern over the detention of the journalist for reportedly asking questions to the managing director of a cooperative bank embroiled in allegations of irregularities.
“The detention of a journalist while on duty is deeply disturbing. While the media is duty-bound to report fairly and responsibly, it is equally the responsibility of the Assam government to ensure that journalists can carry out their work without intimidation or obstruction. At a time when press freedom is perceived to be under siege across the country, this incident raises serious concerns about media suppression,” the EGI said in a statement.
The Press Club of India (PCI) also issued a statement to convey that it stood in “solidarity” with GPC’s protest against the arrest of Mozumdar.
“The protest (by AJP’s youth wing) was held against alleged multi-crore scam in the recruitment of the bank. While the chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is the bank’s director, its chairman is Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Biswajit Phukan,” the PCI said in a statement.
