Tinsukia: The Dibrugarh police have arrested two persons under several charges of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in connection with the incidents of vandalism during Moharam procession in Assam’s Dibrugarh town on Tuesday.
While Furkan Hussain, a resident of Mirgabag locality, was arrested on Wednesday night, Javed Akhtar Khan alias Azad Khan of Panchali locality was arrested on Thursday morning.
Confirming the arrests, Dibrugarh SP Subashini Shankaran told EastMojo that the police have arrested two persons so far.
The duo was arrested in connection with the violence during Tajia procession in Dibrugarh where a few parked vehicles were allegedly damaged, creating an uproar on social media.
The videos and photos of the incident went viral on social media forcing social media users to question as to who gave them permission to destroy vehicles in the name of celebrating a religious occasion.
In one of the videos, two policemen can also be seen seconds after one of the car’s glass panes are broken.
Several Facebook users posted the videos and photos of the incident showing their anger and demanding accountability of the organisers. A post by Anupam Dutta was shared over 1,200 times.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, Dibrugarh SP Shankaran said that the police have identified some more persons based on footage and evidences. “No one will be spared who violates law. The law will take its own course of action,” she added.
The SP also said that some of the footage shared by citizens are not from Dibrugarh. “I appeal all citizens not to share unverified footage and images,” she added.
Reacting to Javed Akhtar Khan’s arrest, his son, Sabir Khan, said, “My father is a social worker and is an office-bearer in so many organisations. He is not going to indulge in damaging cars.” He also asked the police to “show a single footage which nails his father’s role”.
Dibrugarh police registered a case number (1523/19) under Sections 120(B)/ 143/ 144/ 149/ 188/ 431/ 427/ 34 of the IPC following a complaint by one of the owners of the damaged cars.
Meanwhile, serial number 2 of the permission that was accorded by office of the deputy commissioner under the signature of additional district magistrate (admin) clearly read that the organisers should be solely responsible for maintenance of peace and order, communal harmony during the entire programme.
According to sources, on Tuesday two personal cars, bearing registration number AS 06 P 9849 and AS 06 K 7736, were damaged during a Muharram procession. In the pictures shared on social media, the back glass panes can be seen broken besides some partial damage to the cars.
