Prominent citizens urge Assam CM to release Akhil Gogoi

Guwahati: Prominent citizens of Assam, including Rajya Sabha MP Ajit Kumar Bhuyan and former DGP Harekrishna Deka, on Wednesday met Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and urged him to release peasant leader Akhil Gogoi following the Supreme Court's directives to decongest jails to stop the spread of COVID-19.

A memorandum signed by noted litterateurs, journalists, artists, educationists, and others pointed out that after the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) leader Gogoi was granted bail by the Special NIA court, he was re- arrested in other cases across the state.

"The Supreme Court has directed to release inmates on health grounds to prevent infection of coronavirus. After staying in jail for more than four months, the deteriorating health condition of Gogoi is a matter of concern," it said.

The government should "not imbibe enmity" only because Gogoi "exposed corruption" in the system, and hence he should be released soon, they said in the memorandum.

In the midst of intense anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests, Gogoi was arrested on December 12 last year from Jorhat as a "preventive measure" in view of the deteriorating law and order situation in the state and his colleagues were taken into custody the next day.

Later, he was handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which could not submit a charge sheet within the stipulated 90 days, following which he was granted bail.

The appeal to the chief minister further said, "It is an injustice to keep Gogoi and his colleagues in jail for so long. Neither he nor his colleagues ever challenged the country's Constitution or sovereignty."

Every citizen of the nation has the right to democratically and peacefully protest against a decision by a government, it added.

Apart from the MP and former DGP, signatories of the memorandum are Lakshminanda Bora, Arup Kumar Dutta, Biren Singha, Noni Borpujari, Prashanta Rajguru, Nitya Bora, Munin Bayan, Paresh Malakar and Akhil Ranjan Dutta.

The KMSS had alleged the state government was digging out old cases against Gogoi in a vindictive manner despite the Special NIA Court giving him bail.

Along with Gogoi, three more KMSS leaders -- Dhairjya Konwar, Bittu Sonowal and Manash Konwar -- were also arrested by NIA in the same case and are lodged in jail now.

On March 23, the Supreme Court had directed all states and Union Territories to constitute high-level committees to consider releasing on parole or interim bail prisoners and undertrials for offences entailing up to 7-year jail term to decongest prisons in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

Accordingly, nearly 1,700 inmates have been released from 31 jails across.