CM assures to instruct Police not to take action against Anirban

Dec. 5: Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that he will ask the Assam Police not to take any action against journalist Anirban Roy Choudhury in a sedition case filed against him by one Santanu Sutradhar of Silchar. This was informed by senior journalist Pranabananda Das.

A case vide No. 4221/21 U/S 153(A), 124(A), 501 and 505(2) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered against Anirban. The FIR was lodged as against a piece of editorial written by Anirban Roy Choudhury and published in Barak Bulletin on 28 November, 2021. It is in this connection, that the Investigation Officer directed journalist Roy Choudhury to appear before him at 11 AM on 6 December, 2021.

The media fraternity stood besides journalist Anirban Roy Choudhury and expressed their solidarity in a meeting convened by them in the auditorium of Madhya Sahar Sanskritik Sangstha on Sunday. Following this, a memorandum was sent to the Chief Minister seeking his intervention so that the case registered against Anirban be withdrawn.

Senior journalist Pranabananda Das also sent a copy of the memorandum personally to the Chief Minister and sought his immediate attention and intervention. Responding to the Whatsapp message of Mr Das, CM Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote, “He wrote nasty. We should not break the hard earned unity among the two valleys. Anyway, I will ask police not to take action.”