Eight arrested in Assam for 'inflammatory' social media posts on Pahalgam attack

Of the eight, six were held on Friday, while two others, including the legislator, were arrested the previous day.

At least eight people, including an opposition MLA, have been arrested across Assam for their alleged pro-Pakistan stand following the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday.

Of the eight, six were held on Friday, while two others, including the legislator, were arrested the previous day.Sarma said the Assam Police is carrying out an operation against people commenting in favour of Pakistan, and more arrests are likely in the coming period.”Assam will not tolerate any individual who, directly or indirectly, supports or defends Pakistan in connection with the heinous attack in Pahalgam,” he said in a post on X.

Sharing the names, Sarma said the eight individuals were arrested by police for directly or indirectly promoting the cause of Pakistan on social media.Out of the apprehended people, two are from Silchar in Cachar district and one each, from Hailakandi, Morigaon, Nagaon, Sivasagar, Barpeta and Biswanath, he added.”Further arrests are underway as part of our ongoing crackdown,” the chief minister stated, adding that the arrests were made for allegedly promoting anti-national sentiments.On Thursday, two people were arrested — AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam and one student of Assam University in Silchar.

The opposition legislator Islam was also arrested on sedition charges for allegedly defending Pakistan and its complicity in the Pahalgam terror attack, Sarma had said during a press meet.An Assam University student has been arrested by Cachar Police based on a complaint alleging the use of inflammatory and communally inciting content on social media regarding the Pahalgam terror attack, a senior official said on Friday.”He is currently in police custody and will be produced before a court in due course. We are investigating the matter,” he added.

The student was arrested after the Assam University unit of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) filed a complaint.ABVP sources said the accused, a student pursuing a computer science course in the varsity, had made a post on Facebook on Wednesday, allegedly using abusive and derogatory language against certain individuals, including their members, for their stand against the Pahalgam terror attack.The post by the accused is no longer available on the social media platform.In a later post, the student has tendered his apology and claimed he did not intend to offend anyone.

Sarma said no attempt to directly or indirectly support Pakistan through any means, including on social media, will be tolerated, and the police have strict directions to act against such persons immediately.In a separate post, he said: ”A terrorist is a terrorist, no matter what he says, But when his faith becomes his gun and hate becomes his way, When he believes his religion tells him who to fight, He turns his cruelty into a cause and calls it faith and right.” Terrorists struck a prime tourist location in Pahalgam in south Kashmir on Tuesday, killing at least 26 people, mostly tourists, and injuring several others.