'Raj Bhavan Chalo': Conflicting Claims in Congress Member's Death

Contradictory statements have emerged after the "Raj Bhavan Chalo" march organized by the Assam Congress ended in chaos and tragedy on Wednesday, as a protestor allegedly fell ill and died later.

Conflicting statements by the Guwahati police and the Congress have raised questions about the incident's sequence of events. Guwahati Commissioner of Police (CP) Diganta Barah, while addressing the media, claimed that the Congress neither sought nor was granted permission for the protest. He stated that protesters crossed two barricades and were stopped at the third, where the police used tear gas rolls to disperse the crowd.

 “The Congress did not seek permission for today’s protest, nor did we permit them. This means the demonstration was held without prior approval,” said CP Barah. 

He clarified that the police did not fire tear gas shells but rolled them on the ground. "Though the Congress leaders and their supporters broke the barricades, we did not use any kind of force like a lathi charge. We also did not fire tear gas. Tear gas rolls were used instead. Some protesters threw back the smoke-emitting tear gas rolls, targeting the police,” he added.

Regarding Congress leader Mridul Islam’s death, the Commissioner of Police claimed that he fell sick after drinking water in his vehicle.  

He said, “We received information about an individual falling sick after the protests concluded. After initial inquiries, we learned that he complained about his condition to people present at the protest site. He then drank water in his vehicle, and then became unwell. The individual was first taken to a private hospital and then referred to the GMCH. However, he succumbed before reaching the GMCH.”

CP Barah also confirmed that no visible injuries were found on the deceased person’s body. “A magisterial inquiry was done reading the case, which confirmed that, no external injuries in his body. The exact cause of the death will be revealed only after post-mortem examination,” he added.

Following CP Diganta Barah’s statement, the Congress countered with a copy of the permission letter and asserted that the Guwahati Police Commissioner had allowed them to organize the ‘Raj Bhavan Chalo’ march in the city. The party accused the police of disrupting their peaceful protest with unwarranted aggression, attributing Islam’s death to the excessive use of tear gas.