Arrest Syeda Hameed for 'anti-Assam’ statements: AJP files complaints in 16 districts

The Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), on August 29, filed complaints for the registration of FIRs against Delhi-based activist and former Planning Commission member Syeda Hameed in 16 districts of Assam. The party demanded her arrest for making alleged "anti-Assam and communal" remarks.

The party accused Hameed of attempting to create communal discord and insult Assamese identity by her remarks allegedly scripted by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's "propaganda machinery".

On August 24, while in Guwahati, Hameed had remarked, "What is the problem if Bangladeshis live in Assam?"

The following day in Delhi, she reportedly went further, saying that Assam had become a "dangerous place" and that the Assamese community had played the role of a "Frankenstein", the party claimed.

The Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) had earlier alleged that Hameed maintains close ties with a senior journalist employed in a media organisation owned by the chief minister's family, and that her statements were "part of a calculated script to disturb communal harmony in the state".

The AJP's district committees filed the complaints, alleging Hameed's remarks were an insult to Assamese people and a potential trigger for social division.

In their complaints, the AJP leaders accused Hameed of "hurting the sentiments of the people of Assam, attempting to destroy communal harmony, and trying to provoke conflict between communities".

They urged the police to register cases against her under Sections 195 (offences against public tranquility), 353 (statements made with an intent of public mischief), 356 (defamation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with other applicable provisions.

"The government must act immediately to arrest Syeda Hameed for her divisive remarks. Otherwise, it will be clear that she is speaking on behalf of the chief minister," AJP general secretary Jagadish Bhuyan said.