Gauhati HC grants bail to Subodh Biswas

Guwahati (Assam), September 18, 2018:

The Gauhati High Court on Tuesday granted bail to Subodh Biswas, the prime accused in the Silapathar incident and president of Nikhil Bharat Bengali Udbastu Samanway Samitee (NIBBUSS).

On March 6, a mob, which was allegedly led by Biswas, had attacked and vandalized an office of All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) in Silapathar. Following this, the AASU and various other organisations had staged statewide protests for a few days.

The police had charged Biswas with spreading communal hatred, attacking AASU activists and damaging public property. A few days since he had gone into hiding, he was arrested by the Assam Police from a village on the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal. Some 50 others were also arrested from different parts of Assam.

Meanwhile, the AASU has strongly reacted to Biswas being granted bail.

“He managed to secure bail because Assam government is being ruled by external communal forces. That fact that he has been granted bail is a shame for the Assamese people. We will not accept this,” AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi said.