Local courts in Assam have granted bail to 14 of the 16 people arrested by the Assam Police in August for allegedly putting up social media posts “supporting” the recent Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, The Indian Express reported. All but one had been booked under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) but the courts ruled that there were not enough grounds to keep them in jail.
Assam Special DGP (Law and Order) G P Singh had announced the first 14 arrests on August 21 and two more were arrested the next day.
Among those who have got bail is Maulana Fazlul Karim Qasimi, 49, former AIUDF general secretary and Jamiat state secretary, from Darrang district. On October 6, while granting him bail, the Gauhati High Court said there was “nothing incriminating” against him except a Facebook post “emanating from his personal account”.
“Even if it is accepted that the applicant is the author of the Facebook post… in the absence of other incriminating materials, it is doubtful as to whether the contents thereof alone would constitute a cognizable offence. Further custodial detention of the applicant would be uncalled for in this case,” Justice Suman Shyam had said.
Saidul Hoque, a constable with the 21st Assam Police (IR) Battalion, got bail on September 22. In the order, the Kamrup Sessions Court noted that the FIR said Hoque had posted “one incriminating message ‘Congratulations Taliban’” on August 18 on Facebook. However, the court ruled, the available materials were “prima facie insufficient to connect till date the accused supports or invites to support terrorist organisation.”
According to The Indian Express, a teacher and a reporter for two local news outlets Rafiqul Islam (26), a maulana Yaseen Khan, a teacher at a private coaching centre Abu Bakkar Sidique (55), two accused held from Karimganj district- a teacher Mujib Uddin (24), and B.Com student Mortuza Hussain Khan (18) are all out on bail.
Jawed Husain Mazumder (30), Faruk Husain Khan (32), Mozidul Islam (25), Arman Hussain (25), medical student Nadim Akhtar Laskar (23), retired maulana Basiruddin Laskar (65) and Maqbool Alam got bail from the Gauhati High Court, as it did not find anything that required “further custodial detention”.
The pleas of both Khandakar Nur Alom (57) and a rickshaw puller Saiyad Ahmed, were rejected by the Dhubri Sessions Court.
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Rushda Fathima Khan is the Staff Reporter for The Cognate.
