NIA Court Grants Bail to Akhil Gogoi in a Chabua Police Station Case

GUWAHATI:

The special NIA court in Guwahati today granted bail to Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi in a case lodged at the Chabua Police Station. 

The Chabua Police Department filed a complaint against Gogoi in 2019 for allegedly assaulting an on-duty police officer during a CAA demonstration. The cops accused him of hurling stones at the official and shattering his teeth. The matter was later investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Today, he appeared in front of the NIA special court in Chandmari, Guwahati, under heavy security.

Today, security guards barred him from speaking to the media on the court premises. The special court granted bail to two other CAA demonstrators, in addition to Gogoi. This is the second time Akhil has been granted bail in a case filed at the Chabua police station. 

He had previously been granted bail in another case filed at the same police station. Akhil is currently imprisoned and has been prosecuted under the stringent UAPA law.  

Some Raijor Dal leaders, on the other side, thought Akhil's imprisonment on such a charge was ridiculous. Kamal Kumar Medhi, a long-time Gogoi colleague, said that the administration engages in vengeance politics with the Raijor Dal president. 

Since December 12, 2019, Gogoi has been imprisoned on charges of sedition, terrorism, and violence under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), which many believe was a response from the BJP-led government to Gogoi's mass protest against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Assam.

On May 2, 2021, peasant leader and RTI activist Akhil Gogoi created history by being the first person from Assam to win an assembly election while being imprisoned. He took his oath as a Member of the Legislative Assembly from the constituency of Sivasagar on May 21 under special arrangements. He was driven to the Assembly House in a police car by the National Investigative Agency (NIA) from the Guwahati Medical College Hospital (GMCH), where Gogoi has been receiving treatment for several months.   

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