JNU Students Gherao 'Assam Bhawan' in Delhi Demanding Akhil Gogoi's Release, Several Detained

Guwahati, December 23, 2019:

The students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) marched all the way to the Assam Bhavan at Sardar Patel Marg in New Delhi, demanding the Narendra Modi-led BJP regime to release the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) leader, Akhil Gogoi.

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The students, condemning the Modi-Government for "illegal detention", demanded the Centre to release the 'political prisoners' of the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests. Apart from Gogoi, his deputies Dhairjya Konwar and Bittu Sonowal were also arrested in the midst of the protests.

According to reports, several of the protesters were detained outside the UP Bhawan and the Assam Bhawan in the police's crackdown against dissenting elements.

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As per Inside Northeast reports, the protest was organized by the JNU Students' Union (JNUSU), and several other Universities from the national capital were also invited to be a part of the protests.

Speaking to Inside Northeast, Himadree Sonowal, the SIS-Councillor of JNU, said “Our first demand is scrapping of the amendment of the Citizenship Act, and the scrapping of the UAPA."

Sonowal also informed that students from other Universities, such as the Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi University students might also join the protest. “It is mainly organized by the JNU Students’ Union, but we have also informed the other Universities, and they might join in”, Sonowal added.

It may be mentioned here that Akhil has been booked under the Unlawful Assembly Prevention Act (UAPA) by the NIA, allegedly for “waging a war against the nation”.

Gogoi’s custody amid the protests has been observed as a major setback to the indigenous organisations of Assam, as Gogoi was leading statewide protests against the C(A)A.

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