A first information report has been registered against a Bharatiya Janata Party leader from the Charaideo district of eastern Assam for allegedly assaulting and threatening Bengali-origin Muslim workers, reported Deccan Herald.
The FIR was registered on a complaint by nine workers who alleged that BJP leader Mayur Borgohain’s associates assaulted them after several Assamese nationalist groups called on Miya Muslims to leave the Upper Assam region.
The term “Miya Muslims” refers to Muslims of Bengali origin who are often falsely accused of being “illegal immigrants”. The administrative division of Upper Assam, comprising nine districts, is the heartland of Assamese politics and is home to several ethnic communities.
The case was registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections pertaining to unlawful assembly, rioting, being armed with a deadly weapon, voluntarily causing hurt, promoting enmity and criminal intimidation.
The workers are residents of the Barpeta district in western Assam and were engaged by Borgohain for the past three years in the construction of a three-story skill development centre in Charaideo, said the FIR registered on August 26, according to Deccan Herald.
“Bill of Rs 15 lakh for our work is pending with him and Borgohain has not paid the amount despite reminders,” said the complaint filed by Rajibul Hoque, one of the workers. “But under the instruction of Borghain, at around 10.30 pm on August 24, a group of 14 to 15 miscreants, their faces covered, came to us and forced us to kneel in front of our rooms.”
Hoque said that the attackers had daggers, guns, sticks and plastic pipes in their hands and beat up the workers. “All of us got injured,” he said. “They even threatened to kill us with their guns.”
He said they left the spot after the workers shouted for help. The attackers, however, told the workers to leave the district and not seek the Rs 15 lakh pending from Borgohain before fleeing, said Hoque.
The workers were identified as Rajibul Hoque, Ahadul Khan, Aminul Hoque, Amirul Hoque, Surot Jamal, Asir Uddin, Saddam Hussain, Ali Hassan and Asabul Hoque.
They have also reportedly submitted a video of the attack along with their complaint.
The FIR stated that fearing further attacks and threats to their lives, the workers fled the district on a train that same night.
On August 31, the police asked them to appear within three days to record their statements.
This comes days after Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that he would not allow Miya Muslims to “take over the state” and asked why members of the community needed to move to Upper Assam.
“The Leader of Opposition [Debabrata Saikia] and Jania MLA [Rafiqul Islam] has said a big thing today, knowingly or unknowingly,” Sarma said in the Assembly on August 27.
“[They said] people will go from Lower Assam to Upper Assam. Why will [they go]?…This means you [Miya Muslims] want to take over the entire state?” he alleged. “We will also not allow…We will not allow Assam to make Miyaland.”
Also read: Why Bengali Muslim workers are being driven out of Upper Assam