Senior Journalist Arrested for Questioning Corruption in Assam, Protest in Guwahati, Demand for Immediate Release

'The Cross Current' chief correspondent Delwar Hossain Mozumder was arrested by the police after being detained for more than 9 hours.

Assam: Media persons from various organisations on Wednesday protested against the arrest of senior journalist Dilwar Hussain Mozumder in Guwahati and demanded his immediate release. 

Several media organisations, including the Guwahati Press Club, condemned the arrest of the journalist and also extended their support to the protest. Opposition parties like Congress, Raijor Dal and Assam Jatiya Parishad have also demanded the immediate release of Mozumder.

Assam Congress said this is a worrying sign for press freedom. Assam PCC president Bhupen Kumar Borah demanded the unconditional release of journalist Dilwar Hussain Mozumder. He offered Assam Congress support if sought by the family in the matter of legal battle and assured Congress' commitment to stand with the press club in this hour of fight against those who want to silence press freedom.

Media personnel protest against the arrest of senior journalist Dilwar Hussain Mozumder in Assam. pic.twitter.com/e5uxP35Ld8

— VOiCE OF MEDIA (@voiceofmedia1) March 26, 2025

On Tuesday, 'The Cross Current' chief correspondent Delwar Hossain Mozumder was arrested by the police after being detained for more than 9 hours and his mobile phone was seized under mysterious circumstances. Journalist Mojumder is also the assistant general secretary of the Guwahati Press Club.

Dilwar Hussain Mozumder's fault was that he was just doing his job. He had gone to Guwahati to cover the recruitment scam and allegations of fraud of Rs 20.3 crore in Assam Cooperative Apex Bank Limited. During this, when he tried to interview the bank's Managing Director Dambaru Saikia, the MD called him upstairs to his office.

He also asked corruption-related questions to MD Dambaru Saikia because the youth wing of Assam Jatiya Parishad, Jatiya Yuva Shakti (JYS) was on a dharna in front of Assam Cooperative Apex Bank Limited on Tuesday at the same time against the alleged financial irregularities.

URGENT: Journalist Detained for Doing His Job!
Our journalist Dilwar Hussain Majumder has been detained, and his mobile phone seized under mysterious circumstances. When we inquired, authorities failed to provide a case number or a valid reason for his detention.
What happened?… pic.twitter.com/3fkViqVjmu

— Afrida Hussain (@afridahussai) March 25, 2025

Mozumder has also lodged a complaint with the police, which has not been registered yet. He has alleged that a video recording of the protest inside the MD's chamber was deleted and the MD also asked the journalist (Mozumder) to ensure that the protests stop. But they declined, saying they are only journalists covering the truth.

Soon after, as they stepped out, they received a call from the Panbazar police station. Upon reaching there, they were taken into custody. Mozumder is the prime accused in an FIR lodged by a complainant, whose name has not been mentioned in the arrest intimation report. The complaint states that the journalist's remarks were deliberately made to insult and humiliate the complainant, who is a Scheduled Tribe (ST).

Mozumder was arrested after midnight under various sections of the Indian Justice Code (BNS), including those related to criminal intimidation or threat to cause harm to any person, and relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, officials said.

The police report mentioned that the offence is cognisable and non-bailable as per the provisions of the BNS and the SC/ST Act, which led to his immediate arrest. According to the police, the arrest was necessary to prevent the accused from influencing the complainant or witnesses, ensure a fair investigation and avoid any tampering with evidence.

How fair is it to arrest a journalist merely for doing his job? Is fact gathering on corruption allegations and investigative journalism now a crime? Is this not a blatant attack on press freedom?