Dibrugarh: Amid rising demand to release a 19-year-old girl lodged in jail for nearly two months for allegedly penning a poem in support of banned militant outfit ULFA on Facebook, Assam DGP Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta said ''just stay in jail''.
The girl identified as Barshashree Buragohain was arrested on May 18 from Uriamghat in Golaghat district and was charged under the UAPA for writing a poem titled ''Akou Korim Rashtra Droh'' (Will Again Rebel Against the Nation).
''Writing poetry is not bad. I also write poetry but Barshashree was apprehended only because she wrote that she will be joining ULFA,'' the DGP said on Tuesday while speaking to reporters.
''She wrote that she would also take others with her. So, young girl, you don't have to go to ULFA, just stay in jail,'' he added.
Barshashree's arrest, who is an undergraduate student of mathematics, has triggered widespread criticism across the state.
Supporting her, student bodies, opposition parties, and intellectuals demanded her early release.
Meanwhile, her parents have urged Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to release their daughter so that she can sit for her semester-end examinations.
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