Jun 5, 2020, 08:48 pm IST

You will put in jail under  Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA)  for writing ‘Lal Salam’,‘Comrade’ or uploading Lenin’s photo on social media. This incident is reported from Assam.

Sonowal was arrested earlier this year and along with Gogoi and two of this other aides charged under the  Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, by the NIA. These arrests were made in the wake of the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests across Assam in December, 2019.

National Investigation Agency (NIA), in its charge sheet against Bittu Sonowal,   close aide of  Akhil Gogoi, the peasants leader  has  mentioned that he had referred to some of his friends as ‘Comrade’ and used words such as ‘Lal Salam’ among others.

Sonowal was arrested earlier this year and (along with Gogoi and two of this other aides) charged under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, by the NIA. These arrests were made in the wake of the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests across Assam in December, 2019.

The chargesheet filed against them on May 29 states that Sonowal uploaded a photo of Vladimir Lenin on Facebook with the words: “The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them”.

The NIA also said that Sonowal had greeted some of his friends with the ‘lal salam’ chant and referred to them as ‘comrade’.

Akhil Gogoi himself was arrested on December 12 last year from Jorhat and charged under Sections 120B, 253A, 153B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 18 and 39 of UAPA.

Sonowal and two other aides of Gogoi were arrested earlier this year, under various charges of UAPA by the NIA. Gogoi was arrested in December last year.red_flag@red_flag_1st

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Gogoi has been under detention since December 16, 2019, in connection with an NIA case (13/2019) under Sections 120B, 253A, 153B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 18 and 39 of UAPA.In the charge sheet, filed on May 29, it was also mentioned that Sonowal uploaded one photo of Lenin with the words, “The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them”.Sumi #restoremysecularIndia@itsmesumis

#Lalsalam all my fellow #Comrade s.
It’s RSS now supplying constitution to NIA. https://twitter.com/ajoydasgupta/status/1268752043096920069 …AJOY DASGUPTA@ajoydasguptaNIA in its chargesheet against Bittu Sonowal, a close aide of peasants’ leader of #Assam, Akhil Gogoi, mentioned that he had referred to some of his friends as ‘Comrade’ and used words such as ‘Lal Salam’ among others. Horrific!
#comrade #lalsalam https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-writing-lal-salam-and-comrade-on-facebook-can-now-land-you-behind-bars-in-assam/354137 …
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Gogoi is the advisor of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), a peasants’ body.The  40-page charge-sheet submitted by the NIA contains no concrete evidence to prove any of the allegations against their leaders.Amutha Jayadeep@amuthajayadeep

Dear Comrades,
Lal Salaam. #NIA #Comrade #lalsalam #chargesheet

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In the chargesheet, filed on May 29, it was also mentioned that Sonowal uploaded one photo of Lenin with the words, “The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them”.

Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), a peasants’ body to which Gogoi is the advisor, alleged that the 40-page charge-sheet submitted by the NIA contains no concrete evidence to prove any of the allegations against their leaders.

Referring to the chargesheet, KMSS president Bhasco Saikia said that the investigative agency was trying to brand KMSS leaders as Maoists. He said that reading books which are openly available in the market cannot be evidence of being a maoist.

“The NIA wants to establish that Akhil Gogoi is a maoist but they couldn’t give any concrete evidence. They also mentioned about the books on Maoism. The NIA had seized books like ‘An Introduction to Socialism’ and ‘Communist Manifesto’ among others. These books were bought from open market. This is ridiculous,” Saikia said.

On the anti-CAA movement, Saikia said the movement was a people’s movement. “People are protesting because they fear about their identity and culture. NIA is saying that KMSS leaders have a role in the violence during the anti-CAA protests and that it resembled a maoist attack. But we don’t believe in violence,” Saikia added.

The police arrested Gogoi from Jorhat on December 12, when the anti-CAA protests turned violent in Guwahati, leading to widespread damage to public properties. Since then, he has not been released despite him being granted bail by the court as new cases have been slapped against him.

“The NIA wants to establish that Akhil Gogoi is a maoist but they couldn’t give any concrete evidence. They also mentioned about the books on Maoism. The NIA had seized books like ‘An Introduction to Socialism’ and ‘Communist Manifesto’ among others. These books were bought from open market. This is ridiculous,” said KMSS president Bhasco Saikia.Anand Mangnale@FightAnand

Though Gogoi was granted bail by a court, the police did not release him. New cases were slapped against him and this was made the grounds for continuing his detention.

The peasant’s body, Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), which with Gogoi was associated as an advisor, has denounced the filing of the 40-page chargesheet by the NIA, saying it provides no concrete evidence to prove the allegations.

The Samiti president, Bhasco Saikia, told Outlook that NIA was keen to brand its leaders as Maoists

Lal Salaam Comrades! #LalSalam #Comrade

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