Sushmita Dev questions Dipjoy Paul’s arrest, says Police was under BJP’s pressure

“An atmosphere of fear has circled Assam” — this is what the Rajya Sabha MP of All India Trinamool Congress said in a press conference today at her Silchar residence. In the press conference, Dev addressed multiple topics including the arrest of Dipjoy Paul on October 18. She has also declared that she will file FIR against the ones who issued death threats to the Tarapur youth. In the press conference, she also talked about the results of Direct Recruitment in Grade III.

In the press conference called at her residence this evening, she challenged the FIR against Dipjoy Paul and the charges put against him. The Rajya Sabha MP said, “The charges against the arrest of Dipjoy are unnecessary. The sections that have been charged against him don’t apply to his case. What is the criminal conspiracy in his Facebook post? The photo was posted with just three-word captions and two emojis on October 3 and since then 15 days and then someone decided to file a complaint and got him detained”.

About the late-night arrest, she said, “There are several cases pending where the FIR is filed, but the police are not taking any actions against them. But in this case, the police had to arrest this youth late at night at 12:30. The police didn’t even have an arrest warrant against him, but when he protested against his late-night arrest, the police said it was not arrest, just detainment. By doing this, the Cachar Police is causing trouble for a lot of people”. She further said, “In the case of Dolu tea estate too, the ones who protested against the Greenfield Airport, many were detained from there. One journalist among us was also detained without any charge sheet this year”.

The youth who was detained by the police has allegedly received death threats online, about which Sushmita Dev has said, “His post on October 3 has seen no reactions in the public, but still he was detained with the charges of section 41(A). Even though he is out on bail, the police have asked him to visit the thana again on October 25. He has received death threats on Facebook and we will file an FIR against them, I will talk to his guardians and file an FIR. I want to see at what speed the district police takes action in this case”. She further added, “Such arrests of the youths damage their record. They won’t get visas easily or in case of jobs they will have to sign declarations and undertakings and they might not even get jobs in many cases. We will challenge this in a court of law. This excessive abuse and misuse of law, is all politcally motivated”.

It is pertinent to mention here that Dipjoy Paul was released last afternoon on a conditional bond.