Lakhimpur: An Information and Technology (IT) cell worker affiliated to the ruling BJP party has been arrested, allegedly for posting objectionable comments about the Tai-Ahom community on social media. The IT worker of the saffron party, hailing from Assam's Lakhimpur district, surrendered himself on Tuesday after a complaint was filed against him by representatives of the community.
The accused has been identified as Durlabh Nath. According to reports, Nath's house was raided by Lakhimpur police on Tuesday night after the Tai Ahom youth council registered a complaint against him. Nath had allegedly posted controversial comments against the prominent community.
Later in the day, Nath surrendered at the Lakhimpur police station. The BJP IT cell worker is currently under investigation.
This is hardly the first time that someone has landed in the proverbial soup for inflammatory comments against the Tai-Ahoms.
Recently, a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged against West Bengal intellectual Garga Chatterjee, at the Dibrugarh police station for his 'distasteful' comments against the founder of Assam's Ahom dynasty, Chaolung Sukaphaa.
In a bid to criticize the Assam BJP, Chatterjee had termed the founder of the Ahom dynasty, Sukaphaa, to that of a 'Chinese invader'.
Chatterjee had later also questioned Chief Minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal, on Twitter for celebrating a 'Chinese invader' who is supposedly eulogised by a militant group named United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA).
Chatterjee also criticized the BJP for wasting taxpayers' money to unveil statues of Sukaphaa.
The Chief Minister of Assam later tasked Assam Police to bring the intellectual to book.
Facing arrest, Chatterjee once again took to social media to "clarify his stand", and offered an unconditional apology to the Assamese people for his comments.
"In the future, I will never make any social media post that may hurt the sentiments of the people of Assam", Chatterjee said in the video.