Post about rape accused Assam BJP leaders: Cong leader gets arrested

Guwahati: Assam Police arrested state Congress spokesperson Reetam Singh on Saturday over a social media post, where he enquired about the status of cases against three senior BJP leaders who were accused of rape. The said BJP leaders include two serving MLAs- one of whom is a former state party chief, PTI reported.

The Lakhimpur district police arrested Singh at his home in Guwahati.

Following the arrest, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma, who is notorious for his controversial statements against minority communities, defended the state police arresting his rival party leader that the case against Singh was over a caste-based insult he directed at a Dalit woman. Sarma, who also deals with the Home portfolio of the state, claimed that Singh called the husband of a Dalit woman rapist.

The police registered a case against the Congress leader under sections 356(2) of BNS (defamation), 67 of the IT Act (obscene material in electronic form) and other clauses of the SC/ST Act, they informed.

Reetam Singh had posted on the microblogging platform X, sharing a news report about three individuals being convicted by a court for a 2021 rape case in Dhemaji district.

He wrote, "These culprits got the punishment they deserved. But what @BJP4Assam r@pe accused Ministers and MLAs like Manab Deka, ex-party President Bhabesh Kalita, and ex-Minister Rajen Gohain? Is the law equal for all?"

It was reported that a lot of drama happened during Reetam's arrest. Singh said that the police had no warrant in possession to arrest him, and he attempted to resist the police. But he was forcibly taken to a police vehicle.