Man, 22, charged with sedition for pro-Pakistan comments on Facebook in Assam

A 22-year-old man was sent to 14-day judicial custody by a local court after he was arrested on charges of sedition by Assam Police for allegedly writing ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ in a comment on Facebook.

A 22-year-old man was sent to 14-day judicial custody by a local court after he was arrested on charges of sedition by Assam Police for allegedly writing ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ in a comment on Facebook.

This is the second incident in Assam this week where sedition charges have been slapped for pro-Pakistan comments on posts related to the suicide bomb attack on a CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama that killed at least 40 personnel.

Diloar Hussain, who works in a bakery in Guwahati was arrested by the Kamrup (rural) police on Wednesday and produced before a magistrate on Thursday, according to officials.

According to Nabajit Nath, officer-in-charge of Baihata Chariali police station of Kamrup rural district, Dipankar Deka, the general secretary of the Rangia unit of the Rashtriya Bajrang Dal approached police on Tuesday with details of Hussain’s ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ comment on a Facebook post which said ‘Pakistan Muradabad’ condemning the Pulwama incident.

“The complaint said the comment was anti-national in nature. So we registered a case under section 124(A) of the IPC,” Nath said.

On Monday, in Ledo town of Tinsukia district, three youths were arrested by Assam Police and charged with sedition and waging war against the state for pro-Pakistan comments on Facebook.