Congress forcibly tried to enter Raj Bhavan during protest, probe ordered: Assam CM Himanta

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday alleged that Congress leaders had attempted to enter Raj Bhavan forcibly during protest and the authorities have ordered an inquiry into the incident.

The Opposition party on Wednesday organised a protest march to Raj Bhavan against a range of issues, including unrest in Manipur and bribery charges against Adani Group. The party alleged that a 45-year-old Congress worker died “due to tear gas smoke” during the melee.

''The institution of the Governor stands above partisan politics. Yesterday, Congress party leaders attempted to forcibly enter Raj Bhavan by breaching police barricades and causing chaos in the vicinity. The police will register an FIR and conduct a thorough inquiry into the incident, including a review of video recordings,'' the chief minister said in post on X.

Sarma said that henceforth, no demonstrations will be permitted near Raj Bhavan'.

A designated area has already been allocated for protests and demonstrations, he added.

An area in the Chachal area of the city has been earmarked as the designated spot for protests by various organisations.

Meanwhile, the body of the state Congress' Legal Cell member Mridul Islam was laid to rest near his home in Goroimari area of Kamrup district.

Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhupen Borah and working president Jakir Hussain Sikdar, AICC secretary Manoj Chauhan, party MLAs Nandita Das, Rekibudin Ahmed, A K Rashid Alam and Nurul Huda along with several party workers were present there.

After Islam's burial, an effigy of Union Home Minister Amit Shah was burnt near the Congress office in Goroimari in protest against Wednesday's police action against demonstrators in which several journalists were also injured.

In Guwahati, too, Shah's effigy was burnt outside the state party headquarters, Rajiv Bhavan.

Islam felt suffocated when a tear gas shell fell near him during the protest march. He was first taken to a nearby private hospital and then to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) where he was declared dead.

The police had set up barricades to prevent the Congress demonstrators from reaching Raj Bhavan and a scuffle ensued in which the state party president and former Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora fell on the ground and suffered minor injuries.

The police claimed that the protestors broke two barricades and went to the third one when they rolled out tear gas shells but there was no lathi-charge or force used.

The Congress has also filed an FIR at Latasil Police Station here in connection with Islam's death alleging "excessive use of tear gas" and demanding a thorough investigation into the incident.