Dibrugarh: Ten people of Bangladeshi origin were arrested Monday for attacking police and freeing a man accused of posting pro-terrorist content online, after a planned mob assault in a village in Assam’s Lakhimpur.The assault triggered outrage as it involved “Miya” people – referred to Bengali-speaking immigrant Muslims of Bangladeshi origin in Assam, a population estimated at over one crore and long central to the state’s anti-foreigner agitation of the 1980s.The arrests follow a Dec 27 attack in Bongalmora when officers tracked down Baharul Islam, wanted for social media posts supporting the Pahalgam terrorist attack.Those arrested were identified as Afazuddin, Ikramul Hussain, Fakhruddin Ahmed, Noor Hussain, Gulzar Hussain, Nazrul Haque, Kazimuddin, Md Abdul Hamid, Bilal Hussain and Atabur Rahman. Several have prior records, police said.”After the Pahalgam attack, several people posted on social media supporting the act. One such person was Baharul Islam, who used a fake account,” Lakhimpur SSP Gunendra Deka said.Islam had been on the run since a case was filed earlier this year. Acting on intelligence, a team traced him to Sonapur area of Bongalmora and detained him. As officers prepared to move him, a mob of more than 10 people closed in, beat the team and pulled Islam free. “A group led by Atabur attacked the police team and freed Baharul,” Deka said, calling it “a planned assault”.SI Gokul Joyshree and the driver suffered serious wounds. A case was filed under multiple BNS sections.Islam, who was earlier held in a fake gold case, has gone underground after mob freed him. “He will be in custody soon,” Deka said, adding that more arrests are imminent.
