Assam Court Asks Police To Register Case Against Himanta Sarma For "Inflammatory Remarks"

A Guwahati court has directed the police to register a case against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for allegedly saying that the last year's eviction drive in Garukhuti village of Darrang district was an "act of revenge".

The court direction came on the basis of a petition filed by Congress Lok Sabha MP Abdul Khaleque. In his complaint, the Congress MP stated that Mr Sarma had stated that the eviction exercise at Gorukhuti in Darang district was 'revenge' for the incidents of 1983 - when some youths there were killed during the Assam Agitation.

Mr Khaleque had approached the court of Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, alleging police inaction after the Dispur police station did not register an FIR against the Chief Minister.

Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate Biswadeep Baruah in his order on Saturday, a copy of which is available with NDTV, directed the Dispur police station to register the complaint against Mr Sarma.

"The OC (officer-in-charge) Dispur police station is directed to register a case on the allegations mentioned in the complaint and investigate the matter fairly and to submit the Final Form at the earliest," the court order said.

"The police had failed in the discharge of its duty by failing to register the FIR. The veracity of the allegations is not something which can be enquired prior to the registration of the FIR. By failing to even register the FIR, it appears that the police has failed in the discharge of its duty." it added.

The Assam government's eviction drive in Darrang district, which was aimed at removing "illegal encroachers", had turned violent leaving two people, including a 12-year-old, dead.

The Assam Congress MP, in his complaint, accused the chief minister of making communal statements against a particular community while justifying the eviction drive which left over 7,000 people homeless.

"The eviction drive had seen "brutal killings" as well as homes being "burnt to the ground. By calling the horrendous acts (deaths of two civilians) as revenge, Sarma has not only justified the killings and arson committed there, the legality of which is sub-judice before the Hon'ble Gauhati High Court, but he has gone far ahead and communalised the whole exercise -- the target of which, was the Muslim population living there," Mr Khaleque stated in his complaint.

On being asked about the development, a senior Assam police official told NDTV that they are looking into the court order.