GUWAHATI:
A day after an Assam MLA was arrested for linking the Pahalgam terror attack to the top Bharatiya Janata Party leadership, eight people were booked in two northeastern States on Friday for offensive social media posts on the incident that left 26 people dead.
The seven arrested in Assam were Md Jabir Hussain from Hailakandi, Md A.K. Bahauddin and Md Javed Mazumder from Silchar, Md Mujihirul Islam from Morigaon, Md Sahil Ali from Sivasagar, Md Jarif Ali from Barpeta, and Anil Bania from Biswanath.
Hussain is a journalist, Bahauddin a computer science student of Silchar’s Assam University, Mazumder is a lawyer, and Bania is the Biswanath district secretary of the Satra Mukti Sangram Parishad, a student body.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said they were arrested for “promoting the cause of Pakistan” on social media. He said further arrests were underway as part of the ongoing crackdown.
“Assam will not tolerate any individual who, directly or indirectly, supports or defends Pakistan in connection with the heinous attack in Pahalgam,” he posted on X.
“A terrorist is a terrorist, no matter what he says, but when his faith becomes his gun and hate becomes his way, when he believes his religion tells him who to fight, he turns his cruelty into a cause — and calls it faith and right,” the Chief Minister said.
The Meghalaya police also arrested 30-year-old Simon Shylla, a resident of Shillong’s Umlyngka area, on similar charges. Vivek Syiem, the East Khasi Hills district Superintendent of Police, said he was taken into custody for anti-national comments in a video aired by a news channel.
Shylla allegedly supported the terrorists and said such attacks should be carried out across the northeast.
On Thursday, the police in central Assam’s Nagaon district arrested All India United Democratic Front MLA Aminul Islam for linking the Pahalgam terror attack and the 2019 Pulwama incident to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
Black ribbon protest
Members of the United Meitei-Pangal Committee, an organisation of Manipuri Muslims, wore black ribbons during the Friday prayers to protest the Pahalgam attack on April 22. Condemning the incident, the organisation urged the government to take decisive action against the perpetrators.
“Terrorism has no place in a civilised society. Such violence only weakens the fabric of our diverse nation and attempts to derail peace and communal harmony,” the organisation said. It added that the black ribbon was “a symbol of our collective grief, unity, and firm stand against terror and violence in any form”.
