Assam Congress complains to ECI, seeks suspension of Sonitpur SSP over assault on Naduar candidate

The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee has filed a formal complaint with the Election Commission of India, demanding the suspension and transfer of Sonitpur's Senior Superintendent of Police, Barun Purkayastha, following the assault on its Naduar Assembly constituency candidate, Sunil Kumar Chetry, during an election campaign on March 30, 2026.

The complaint, bearing reference number APCC/Elec/Complaint/2026-27/194 and dated March 31, was signed by APCC President and Member of Parliament Gaurav Gogoi.

According to the complaint, Chetry was set upon by a group of men armed with sticks and batons at the Napam Bypass/Nomail area in Sonitpur district at approximately 3:00 pm on Monday, while he was engaged in legitimate campaign activity. The incident was, the party states, captured in a widely circulated video.

Senior Congress spokesperson Rupa Kalita and several party workers were also reported injured. The complaint names Mehabub Alam, President of the Chowkighat Gaon Panchayat, and Mujahidul Alam as among the prime assailants, based on eyewitness accounts and visual evidence.

The committee's central grievance, however, is directed not at the assailants but at the police. It alleges that uniformed personnel were present at the scene but neither intervened nor effected arrests, and that no First Information Report had been registered as of the time of filing. This, the letter argues, constitutes a violation of Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, which places a mandatory obligation on police to register an FIR in cognizable offences.

The complaint invokes multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, including Section 190 (unlawful assembly), Sections 191(2) and 191(3) (rioting and rioting with deadly weapons), Section 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), Section 118 (causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons), and Section 351 (criminal intimidation) — offences it describes as cognizable and non-bailable. It further contends that the incident constitutes an electoral offence under Section 123(2) of the Representation of the People Act 1951, amounting to undue influence and intimidation of a candidate.

The APCC has also raised a broader concern about what it characterises as a pattern of differential enforcement by the district police — alleging prompt action in cases involving the ruling party while opposition-related complaints are allowed to lapse. The letter additionally notes an earlier clash in the district on or around March 28, arguing that prior warning of heightened tensions existed and that adequate preventive measures were not deployed regardless.

Invoking the Election Commission's plenary powers under Article 324 of the Constitution, the complaint demands: immediate FIR registration against the named persons under the cited sections; the arrest of all identified perpetrators; a time-bound inquiry into the SSP's conduct and his immediate suspension and transfer pending that inquiry; deployment of central paramilitary forces in Naduar; and round-the-clock security for Chetry and all Congress candidates and workers in Sonitpur district. Directions to the Assam Police for strict compliance with the Model Code of Conduct have also been sought.

The complaint requests that action be taken within 24 hours, warning that failure to respond "will be construed as tacit approval of the collapse of the rule of law in the constituency." Copies have been addressed to the Director General of Police, the Chief Secretary of Assam, the Principal Secretary of the Home and Political Department, and the Chief Electoral Officer, Assam.