Guwahati:
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sent notice to the Assam Police chief seeking a report on the alleged detention of a journalist while doing his work.
The NHRC took up the matter on its own. On March 25, news website The Cross Current’s chief reporter Dilwar Hussain Mozumder was detained by the police after he questioned the managing director of the Assam Cooperative Apex Bank over alleged financial irregularities.
No reason was cited for his detention. The Press Club of India, the Gauhati Press Club, and other media associations strongly criticised the detention, which was based on a complaint filed by the bank’s top official D Saikia.
The NHRC said if the media reports of Mr Mozumder’s detention were true, then they raised the issue of violation of the journalist’s human rights. It sent notice to Assam Police Director General Harmit Singh, seeking a report within four weeks.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said people working for websites are not recognised as journalists under the state government’s rules.
Multiple cases were filed against Mr Mozumder. He was granted bail in all the cases. The journalist was arrested under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for allegedly abusing a bank guard.
According to the police, the complainant alleged the journalist “unlawfully entered the first floor of the head office of the Assam Cooperative Apex Bank Ltd… and attempted to steal valuable bank documents. When the bank employees noticed the accused, they raised an alarm, causing the accused to flee the scene. During the incident, the accused disturbed the bank’s operations, threatened the employees, and made caste-based derogatory remarks towards the security guard, who belongs to the ST community.”
“It has come to my notice that some media houses have reported the arrest of a journalist by Assam Police. I would like to clarify that Assam Police has not arrested any journalist in recent times,” Mr Sarma said in a post on X.
“He works for a portal, and we do not recognise people working for portals as journalists… I believe he is just an individual, and there is speculation he is a businessman. He owns dumpers and works as a part-time journalist for a portal. The portal in question is a politician promoted,” Mr Sarma said.