Skip to content Skip to navigation

Arrest-release boosts Akhil Gogoi’s movement

By Syed Miraz Ahmed |

The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity Assam’s (KMSSA) General Secretary Akhil Gogoi on Sunday was taken into custody by Pan Bazaar Police from outside the Guwahati Press Club premises for first instance violation of PR Act 126.


Anti-corruption campaigner Akhil Gogoi along with some 40 members and supporters was at that time about to proceed to Dighali Pukhuri to lead a democratic sit in protest in support of Gandhian Anna Hazare’s demand for the ratification of Jan LokPal (Ombudsman) Bill for the second consecutive day since Saturday after calling short a Press Meet on non industrialization of Lower Assam at Guwahati Press Club when the incident took place.


Akhil Gogoi who for about more than a year now has been spear heading mass corruption awareness among all sections of the social strata was told by the Deputy Commissioner Guwahati Metro at Pan Bazaar Police Station that he was only detained under section 107 IPC and not under PR Act 126 as earlier stated. A number of citizens including senior citizens collected at the Pan Bazaar Police in support of Akhil Gogoi’s apolitical and evidently democratic stand and demanded that Akhil Gogoi be freed unconditionally.


At the Pan Bazaar Police Station Akhil Gogoi and members resorted to indefinite fast when the Deputy Commissioner Kamrup Metro arrived to take stock of the prevailing situation. Akhil inquired into his dramatic detention and demanded that the Administration concerned tender an apology to the agitated gathering for forcefully hindering a democratic exercise from being carried on. The Deputy Commissioner present however expressed his dissatisfaction over Akhil’s arrest and assured his release under a PR Bond by 4pm.


Akhil mounted atop a vehicle and addressed a sea of people moments after his eventual release sensitizing them about alleged corrupt ministers and large scale misappropriation of funds. “We will stand against corruption; we may be arrested but not killed, we shall not surrender”, he said. He blatantly accused the Tarun Gogoi led Government and Ministers Himanta Biswa Sarma and Rockybul Hussain of unemployment and other misdevelopments in the state. Nothing can be better than democratically agitating to bring in the Jan LokPal Bill to find a corruption free Assam said a young Arup Kalita who joined the bandwagon supporting Anna Hazare and Akhil Gogoi at Pan Bazaar.


A series of protests took place at many places in the state after news about Akhil’s arrest broke out. Effigies of Tarun Gogoi were burnt and anti-Congress slogans chorused. Later after his historic public address Akhil led a procession with increasing supporters to Chandmari where he again addressed a mass gathering at the T point standing atop the concrete height otherwise used by the Traffic Police to divert and manage the traffic. All vehicle commuters and passersby stood still and lended an eager ear to him as he requested them to boycott the Congress (I) in the proceeding second phase of the State Assembly Elections on Monday.


The KMSSA on Saturday launched an indefinite sit in protest at Dispur Last Gate Grounds to acknowledge and uphold Anna Hazare’s fast-unto-death effort for an India sans corruption. Later towards evening the venue of the sit in protest was DighaliPukhurir Par where multitudes of people convened. Organizations like Save Guwahati Build Guwahati, the Policy Group for Peoples’ Rights of Dibrugarh, Chaliha Nagar and Bordoloi Nagar Citizen’s Fora, the Senior Citizen’s Forum of Tinsukia and a number of people including the youth and women took to the streets to convey their solidarity followed by a candle-lit march.


The KMSSA in its publication titled “Why is it necessary for the public to reject the Congress?” accused the Congress Government for the unavailability of posts and appointments in all Government Departments , non Provincialization of Schools, lack of PSUs, unexpected price hike, destruction of a people by the Construction of Dams, hike in Transportation Fare, a crippled Education Sector, hike in Education Fee, hike in the price of Life Saving Drugs, hike in Government Hospital Fee, hike in the cost of weaving threads and the devastation of the Weaving Industry, failure to employ the unemployed, increase in crime rates, a corrupt Public Distribution System, misappropriation of NREGA funds, mass corruption, 100 Core scam in North Cachar Hills District, increase in Energy Fee, hike in essential commodities, disappearance of Water Fronts to concretization, non enactment of the Forest Resources Act, misuse of Land, improper Industrialization, an eroding Veterinary Department, neglect of indigenous crops and acceptance of hybrid varieties, no Erosion proof schemes, non protection of the Majuli Island, closure of Cinema Halls, non Declaration of New Government Pension Schemes, misappropriation of funds by the Irrigation Department, non implementation of the Assam Accord and non completion of the pilot National Register of Citizens, non tribalization of the 6 indigenous communities and gross misuse of power are amongst the 50 Big Allegations leveled against the Congress Government.


Add new comment

Random Stories

Saints, musical fountain await visitors to historic Bengal Church

23 Dec 2016 - 11:14pm | CM Paul
Several first time visual treats await visitors to 417 year old Marian shrine on the banks of Hooghly River in Bandel 40 kms north of Kolkata. The West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation (WBTDC)...

Explosive material recovered in Nalbari

11 Jan 2008 - 12:28pm | editor
The Army and police on Friday have recovered a huge amount of explosive materials in Baram chawk in Nalbari district. These include five exclusive devices and two hand grenades. All these were...

ULFA bandh total, disrupts normal life in Assam

25 Jun 2009 - 12:57am | editor
A 12-hour statewide Assam is disrupting normal life in the state on Thursday. Called by the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), the bandh began at 5 in the morning which will end at 5 in the...

Attack on Papon in Dhemaji

1 May 2014 - 8:44am | AT News
Singer Angarag Mahanta had sustained minor injury when some unidentified miscreants targeted him with stone in Dhemaji on Wednesday.The incident took place when miscreants pelted stones at him as he...

Other Contents by Author

American Center Director visits Guwahati

American Center Director & Public Affairs Officer Joanne "JJ" Joria was on a 2 day visit to Guwahati. During her August 28, 29 stay she visited the American Corner which is the American Library Kolkata's northeast resource center. The center jointly set up by the U.S. Consulate, Kolkata and the Darwin School of Business was inaugurated on February 25, 2012 by Ambassador Peter Burleigh. The American Corner provides current and reliable information about the United States and communicates diverse academic information essential for students, teachers, professionals and others. The information outpost is a tool for expanding knowledge on the United States for the people of northeast India...

Assam Times to host IMED 2014

Assam Times will host the Fourth International Media Ethics Day (IMED Cyber) on September 19, 2014 at Guwahati in cooperation with The Center for International Media Ethics CIME, a non-profit organization bringing together a network of media professionals throughout the world to provide training, discussion and expertise in the ethics of their profession. This year the event will have special focus on digital media ethics and IT security, including, but not limited to: Data Protection, Social Media, Citizen Journalism, Copyrights, Whistleblowing, Online Security, and Internet Censorship. Assam Times solicits participants to talk on the themes provided. For registration email...

Consultation on environment and natural resources

Come September 14. Region’s top environmentalists and social scientists will rub shoulders in Guwahati to deliberate on piloting north east initiatives for the protection of environment & natural resources. Jointly organized by Assam Times and the Coalition on Environment and Natural Resources, the consultation is expected to help the north eastern region create an opportunity to promote a consolidation among the civil society organizations. The main objective behind this initiative is to outline the challenges of extractive industries, development issues and yawning gaps among the indigenous communities. The interested civil society organizations, researchers, development workers...

Financial inclusion seminar on Jun 27

The banking industry has shown tremendous growth in volume and complexity during the last few decades. Despite making significant improvements in all the areas relating to financial viability, profitability and competitiveness, there are concerns that banks have not been able to include vast segment of the population, especially the underprivileged sections of the society, into the fold of basic banking services. Even internationally, efforts are being made to study the causes of financial exclusion and designing strategies to ensure financial inclusion of the poor and disadvantaged. The reasons may vary from country to country and hence the strategy could also vary but all out efforts are...

Wordweaves launches city guide

Wordweaves-India today launched 'Alluring Guwahati', a coffee-table pickup that exhibits fascinating aspects of Guwahati. The book unusual to its size documents the various city landmarks, eateries, the emerging night life, necessary information essential for tourists, tidbits and more.   Principal Secretary, Tourism, Government of Assam V.S. Bhaskar after releasing the book said that his department has succeeded in filling the void for a specific book aimed at tourists and others. An initiative of the Kamrup (Metro) District Administration, 'Alluring Guwahati', has been published by Wordweaves India with support from the State Bank of India, Northeast Circle.   Though the...

eBook keeps music maestro alive

Two years have passed since Dr Bhupen Hazarika shuffled off his mortal coils. But the dead music maestro is still living in the minds and hearts of millions of people. His baritone voice continues to enjoy a separate degree of veneration. This was more or less of what the speakers told at a function in Guwahati on Saturday where social activist Deven Dutta released an eBook dealing with Dr Hazarika’s golden songs.  The English version, the first of its kind in eBook format by Pronami Bhattacharyya titled “Let My Songs Be, A Door To A New Dawn” drew appreciation from several quarters.   Deven Dutta flipping through the pages of the eBook as typographer and graphic designer...

Modi not responsible for Assam violence: Shiv Sena

Shiv Sena today slammed the Congress for holding Narendra Modi responsible for the violence in Assam, saying those levelling such charges are the ones who have divided the country and should practice meditation at Ramdev's ashram as they have ‘lost their mental balance.' BJP's oldest ally also targeted Congress leader Kapil Sibal, saying it has never seen him "taking up the cause of Hindus in Kashmir as he did for Bangladeshi Muslims in Assam". The comments have been made in an editorial in the party’s mouthpiece in Saamna.Congress on Sunday attacked BJP and its prime ministerial candidate for the violence in Assam, saying it was a result of "communal polarisation" done by them to...

Madani's peace call

Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind General Secretary, Maulana Mahmood Madani, Sunday evening urged Muslims not to react and take law into their hands in the name of revenge. He was referring to the recent clashes between Bodos and Muslims in Assam. A volatile situation prevails in Assam after 33 people were killed and nearly 50,000 displaced after clashes between Bodos and Muslims broke out. Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has said there was a concerted effort to start a full fledged communal flare-up. Among the dead are mostly women and children. Of the total, 31 belonged to the minority community. While Tarun Gogoi has admitted that it was the NDFB(S) which is responsible for the killings,...

Waiting for climate change

The Brahmaputra river basin is considered as highly vulnerable to climate change impacts according to recently published scientific literature. The information and the knowledge base on the dynamics of causal factors and impacts are still emerging. Awareness about the climate change impacts, the means of mitigation or the need of adapting to the same is limited in the NE region. Most of this knowledge-base and understanding has developed at large spatial scales such as the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin, Brahmaputra basin, upper Brahmaputra basin, eastern Himalayan region, the Indian sub-continent or large river catchments. Studies suggest that the River Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM)...

Citizens demand arms seizure

The anti-talk faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (IK-Songbijit) allegedly opened fire killing 34 and injuring several since Friday. Inspector General of Police for the Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Districts (BTAD) L. R. Bishnoi confirmed that the rebels who engineered the massacre belonged to the anti-talk faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland. The dead include women and infants. Some 70 and more houses were raised to the ground in the fringes of the famous Manas National Park falling under Baksa of the BTAD so far. 22 people have been detained for burning homes and aiding the banned outfit. The outfit however, deneied the charges in an email release to...