Anirban Roy Chowdhury, editor and co-owner of a news portal in southern Assam, was released on personal recognition (PR) bond on Monday.
The Silchar city police had charged him with sedition on December 2 on the basis of an FIR lodged by Shantanu Sutradhar, a local businessman and member of the All Assam Bengali Hindu Association.
Mr Chowdhury was also charged with other sections of the Indian Penal Code for a November 28 editorial that allegedly aimed to ignite enmity between the Assamese and Bengali-speaking people of the state.
The Barak Valley is dominated by Bengalis and the Brahmaputra Valley is dominated by Assamese speakers.
“Around 150 journalists from Cachar district gathered on Sunday and wrote a letter to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma requesting him not to take any action against Mr Choudhary, the editor of the local news portal. Barack BulletinSilchar-based journalist Anirudh Laskar said.
Journalists said the FIR is a violation of the media houses’ right to freedom of expression.
Several journalists accompanied Mr. Choudhary to the Silchar Sadar Police Station where he was called at 11 am.
“Police questioned him for an hour and let him go on PR bond,” Mr Laskar said.
However, the case against Mr. Choudhary will go on legally. He said he would approach the court for bail on December 7.
Lawyer’s arrest
The editorial which was found objectionable was titled “Welcome to the paradise of spineless – we are Assamese”. This was published after Pradeep Dutta Roy, a former BJP leader and advocate of the Gauhati High Court, was also charged with sedition and arrested in Silchar on November 27.
Mr Roy had objected to the use of only Assamese language in a hoarding on a government scheme, pointing out that it should have been Bengali, the official language of the Barak Valley under the Assam Official Languages (Amendment) Act, 1961.
The hoarding was removed and replaced with another one displaying slogans and information in both Assamese and Bengali.
Mr Roy, who was sent to judicial custody till December 10, is undergoing treatment at the Silchar Medical College and Hospital for liver ailment.
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