Green towel hoisted as flag in Barak Valley; 5 arrested for raising anti-India slogans 

While the tricolor was flying high all across India as the country celebrated its 71st Republic Day yesterday, a green towel was hoisted as a flag in Budhurail located in Sonai block, Cachar district.

At around 7:45 AM local residents of Goalapara saw a green towel being hoisted instead of the national flag in an industrial estate. A local resident informed that a senior citizen went inside the industrial estate and heard anti-India slogans. “He is an intellectual in our area and people respect him. When he came to us and narrated the incident we rushed to the spot and found a green towel hanging instead of the national flag,” informed the resident.

“There were nine individuals and most of them are residents of Amraghat, Modhurband and all. We asked them to sing the national anthem with us but they did not. That is when we informed the Police about it,” he added.
The Police officials took five into custody and said they are investigating the matter. Qasim, Mushtaq, Foyez Uddin, Manik, Haider are among the ones detained.

Another eye witness informed that the locals initially manhandled the tenants in the factory who allegedly hoisted a green flag. “They gathered here and asked them to kneel down, few even went on to abuse and hit. Later after the seniors in the locality intervened the Police was involved,” the eyewitness said.

The locals demanded the Police to investigate the matter in deep detail and unearth the people behind it. “Who asked them to do this and hurt our national sentiments. Who are they working for and what is their background. We want to know all of it and this was not a childlike act but an intentional attempt to insult the nation,” said a resident of the Goalapara area.

Pranab Banik is the owner of the estate where they were all living as tenants. He too condemned the incident and said will cooperate fully in all investigation.