Bir Lachit Sena Leaders Booked in Jorhat for ₹5 Lakh Extortion Bid

Jorhat has been rattled by fresh allegations of extortion against leaders of the hardline nationalist group Bir Lachit Sena. The controversy has triggered sharp criticism of the district administration and police for their alleged inaction.

According to reports, the president of Bir Lachit Sena’s Jorhat district unit, Aditya Paniphukon, and secretary Sujit Dutta, along with a few associates, allegedly demanded ₹5 lakh from the management of City Kart Mall in Jorhat. Shockingly, extortion threats were also made in the name of a local journalist.

The episode unfolded after a complaint was raised on Wednesday against a City Kart store manager, accused of misbehaving with a female employee. Members of Bir Lachit Sena allegedly barged into the mall, physically assaulted the manager, and forced him to kneel down in public.

Police later arrested the manager and sent him to judicial custody. However, within 24 hours, the focus shifted dramatically when the mall authorities began receiving repeated threats from Bir Lachit Sena leaders to shut down the premises if their demands were not met.

The extortion claims reportedly escalated during a meeting at a hotel, where the leaders demanded a large sum of money from the mall management. Following this, Jorhat Police registered a case against Bir Lachit Sena leaders Sujit Dutta and Aditya Sagar Paniphukon, among others, under sections 308(4), 351(2), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The incident has sparked widespread outrage across Jorhat. Many locals have questioned the silence of the police and district administration, accusing them of allowing the group to operate as a “parallel administration” in the name of nationalism.

Notably, just days earlier, members of Bir Lachit Sena had created a ruckus inside the Jorhat Municipal Board office, yet no strong action was taken by the civic body or administration at the time. Observers believe this unchecked behaviour has emboldened the group to escalate its activities.

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