On Tuesday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma warned all ‘Taliban sympathisers’ that they are on the watch list of the Assam Police. This comes after 14 people were arrested over their social media posts allegedly supporting the Taliban.
The CM further said “Assam is a very sensitive state; so, we had requested people to avoid sensitive posts on social media which could spread communal tensions. Some people didn’t listen to us, so we arrested them. I am very happy that even the Muslim community of Assam has supported those arrests” “We didn’t arrest all, some were counseled and sent back, but we are keeping a watch,” These posts were not in support of the Taliban but in favour of armed struggle, Himanta added.
Previously, on August 21, the Assam Police arrested 14 people who purportedly expressed support for the hardline Islamic militant outfit’s takeover of Afghanistan, through their posts. The accused were arrested for their social media posts that revolved around the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. The Assam Police took notice of this and warned that they would further strictly monitor such activities and would take necessary action against such miscreants. The CM said if any event has happened outside the jurisdiction of this country, there is no need to upload any post hailing it or otherwise.
According to the police, the arrests have been made since August 20 and they have been charged under different sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, IT Act and CrPC.
The accused were booked under different sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). This included the Unlawful (prevention) Act, the IT Act and The Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Assam Police while making the arrests said, “We were on alert and monitoring social media for inflammatory posts.”
A new dawn has risen for the state of Assam since Himanta Biswa Sharma took over as the CM. Himanta’s dynamic rule had brought Assam back on the right track, his warning to the people of the state is to be taken seriously and people celebrating Taliban invasion should be on high alert. Both the Assam government and the Assam police are keeping a close eye on any form of criminal-minded elements and anyone glorifying the same will end up behind the bars.