Sipajhar Violence: Photographer Of Viral Video Arrested, In CID’s Custody

In a major development in the Sipajhar violence incident, photographer Bijoy Baniya who was seen jumping and attacking an incapacitated protestor who later died has been arrested by the state police on Thursday evening and is in Assam CID's custody.

A hostile situation erupted during a protest today afternoon against the eviction drive in Assam's Dholpur village under the Sipajhar revenue circle.

Important Update

In connection with the viral video of an incident at Gorukhuti, the said Cameraman has been arrested and a case has been registered by @AssamCid for further investigation.

— Assam Police (@assampolice) September 23, 2021

As the protests turned violent, the police had to resort to firing and lathi charges in an attempt to disperse the mob. A protestor was seen chasing the photographer, while, a team of police personnel stopped the protestor and took him down on the ground. As the protestor laid on the ground, the photographer identified as Bijoy Shankar Baniya jumped on the protestor's chest and punched him brutally in the brief video which is going viral across social media.

Baniya was stopped by police personnel, however, he returned to attack the severely wounded protestor once again.

In the video, the protestor looked unconscious, but reports later confirmed that the protestor have succumbed to his injuries.

Meanwhile, two persons have died of bullet injuries while several others including at least eight police personnel have been wounded.

As per reports, the deceased has been identified as Saddam Hussain and Sheikh Farid. One policeman Maniruddin Ahmed sustained severe injuries and he was rushed to GMCH from Mangaldai Civil Hospital in critical condition.

Two other policemen Amiya Gogoi and Manash Pratim Baruah were attacked by the mob. Earlier on Monday, eviction drives were conducted peacefully at No. 1 Dholpur and No. 3 Dholpur to free 4500 bighas of government land which were occupied by nearly 800 families.