Gauhati HC issues notice to Assam CM in PILs alleging 'hate speech'
Guwahati (PTI): The Gauhati High Court on Thursday issued a notice to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in connection with a bunch of PILs, accusing him of giving "hate speech" and making "communal comments" against the 'Miya' community.
Notices were also issued to the state government and the DGP in connection with three different petitions on the matter.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury heard the three petitions.
The court fixed March 21 as the next date of hearing.
"The respondents have to reply to the notices before the next date. The court has not issued any other order," Advocate Santanu Borthakur, who assisted the counsels for one of the petitioners, told PTI.
One petition was filed by Assamese litterateur Hiren Gohain, former DGP Harekrishna Deka and senior journalist Paresh Malakar on February 24. The CPI and CPI(M) had also filed separate petitions on February 21, seeking to restrain the CM from making such comments.
The Supreme Court on February 16 refused to entertain petitions seeking action against Sarma over a viral video purportedly showing him taking aim and firing with a rifle at members of a particular community.
'Miya' is originally a pejorative term used for Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam, and the non-Bengali-speaking people generally identify them as Bangladeshi immigrants. In recent years, activists from the community have started adopting the term as a gesture of defiance.
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11 arrested for kidnap, assault of Kannada film director; actor among accused
Bengaluru (PTI): Eleven people, among them a woman, were arrested for allegedly kidnapping and brutally assaulting a Kannada film director and robbing him of gold ornaments and cash, police said on Thursday.
The matter came to light after he filed a complaint at Adugodi police station on February 11, they said.
Among those arrested is a female actor named Aishwarya, who is also a social media influencer, police added.
According to police, in his complaint, T A Anish stated that he had directed a new film titled 'Jeevanada Bhashe', which is yet to be released.
An investor in the film, along with another associate working with him, developed a financial dispute with Anish.
About two months ago, the complainant moved from Bengaluru to Mumbai.
During this period, he informed a female actor friend residing in Indiranagar, Bengaluru, that he was planning to sell his car. The accused came to know of this through the actress and told the complainant they would help him sell the vehicle, a senior police officer said.
On February 9, they called him from Mumbai to Bengaluru. Thereafter, the accused, along with others, asked the complainant to come to a location within the limits of Adugodi police station, he said.
On the same night, they allegedly kidnapped him in a car and took him to a house within the jurisdiction of Byadarahalli police station, where they wrongfully confined him.
Five to six persons then allegedly assaulted him with cricket stumps and hockey sticks and robbed him of the gold ornaments he was wearing and Rs 30,000 in cash, police said.
Later, they took him by car to Mandaragiri Hill near Panditanahalli in Tumakuru district, where two more persons joined them and allegedly assaulted him again, police said.
Based on the complaint, a case of kidnapping and assault was registered at Adugodi police station.
“During the investigation, police pursued multiple angles and secured a total of 11 accused, including one woman, involved in the crime,” the officer said.
Police also seized six mobile phones used in the offence, gold ornaments, a car and cash from the accused.
The accused were produced in a court, which remanded them to custody, police said, adding that further investigation is underway.
