'Misuse of police powers': Gaurav Gogoi writes to PM, seeks probe into Assam journalist arrest

Guwahati: Senior Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to initiate an enquiry into allegations of misuse of Assam Police in arresting a journalist, who was covering a protest against alleged financial irregularities in a state-run bank.

In the letter to the PM, the deputy leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha also sought an independent probe into the alleged financial scam at the Assam Co-operative Apex Bank (ACAB), in which Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is one of the directors and BJP MLA Biswajit Phukan is the chairman.

Senior journalist Dilwar Hussain Mozumder was arrested by the Guwahati Police on Tuesday midnight and again on Thursday morning in connection with two cases filed by a bank employee and its managing director, respectively. He has got bail in both cases.

"The misuse of police powers in the arbitrary arrest of journalist Diluwar (Dilwar) Hussain Mozumder must be investigated to ensure accountability. It is also imperative to safeguard press freedom and prevent the wrongful targeting of journalists reporting on matters of public interest," Gogoi said in the letter.

This issue extends beyond one journalist as it strikes at the core of the country's democracy, transparency of financial institutions and the protection of constitutional rights, said the letter, dated March 28, made available to the press on Sunday.

"Your immediate intervention is crucial to ensure justice, hold those responsible accountable, and restore public faith in our institutions," the Jorhat MP wrote to the PM.

Mozumdar, who is also the assistant general secretary of Gauhati Press Club, was first arrested on Tuesday midnight in connection with a case filed by a bank employee, who had alleged that the scribe had made casteist remarks.

He was granted bail in the case on Wednesday but was arrested again immediately upon release the next day in a second case filed by the managing director of the bank, Dambaru Saikia, for allegedly attempting to steal valuable bank documents.

The chief reporter of a Guwahati-based digital media outlet obtained bail in the second case on Friday and was released on Saturday after spending the night in judicial custody at the end of legal formalities.

"When seeking a byte from the bank's Managing Director, Shri Dombru (Dambaru) Saikia, the journalist was invited inside the premises. However, what followed was deeply alarming - he was subsequently detained by the Pan Bazar Police Station without justification," Gogoi claimed.

The grounds of his arrest initially included "false accusations" of caste-based abuse, which were debunked when the magistrate found no evidence of such allegations in the informant's statement, he said in the letter.

"Despite being granted bail, he was re-arrested the next day under exaggerated charges of robbery and trespassing into the bank to steal confidential documents. These actions strongly indicate an attempt to silence a journalist reporting on alleged irregularities," Gogoi alleged.

The arrest of Mozumdar had sparked nationwide protests by journalists, with questions raised on the manner he was apprehended.

The Congress MP urged Modi to initiate an independent enquiry into the alleged irregularities at ACAB, including a financial audit and review of its governance.

"Media reports suggest that the bank has been operating without a formal contract with any IT vendor since June 2024, raising serious security and operational concerns. Banking infrastructure costs allegedly surged from 28 crores in 2018 to nearly 250 crores in 2025, with 14 crores allegedly funnelled to KPMG under suspicious circumstances.

"A complaint was reportedly submitted to the Central Vigilance Commission on January 30, but the state government has remained unresponsive. In a March 3 directive, the Assam government's Cooperation Department instructed the Registrar of Cooperative Societies to investigate the allegations and submit a report within 15 days," Gogoi claimed.