Hundreds of Assamese students from across India write to CM Sonowal, demand Akhil Gogoi's release
GUWAHATI: Hundreds of Assamese students from across the country on Monday wrote to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, demanding the immediate release of peasant leader Akhil Gogoi who was arrested by NIA for his alleged role in violent anti-CAA protests.
The students from various colleges and universities across India condemned the continued detention of Gogoi, who has been shifted to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital after testing positive for COVID-19 inside the Guwahati Central Jail.
"It is deplorable how under the pretext of several flimsy allegations one following the other, the investigating agency has managed to extend their period of incarceration for more than six months now," a statement from them said.
It is a matter of great concern to the people of Assam that a number of students, including Devangana Kalita who led the anti-CAA protests in New Delhi, have faced the same predicament, it added.
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"At a time when the entire globe faces tremendous challenges of a pandemic situation, we, the student community of Assam demand the provision for proper treatment to the imprisoned Akhil Gogoi, Dhaijya Konwar, Bittu Sonwal and Manash Konwar, and we demand their release without further delay," the letter signed by around 350 students said.
They demanded immediate and unconditional release of all anti-CAA activists and proper medical care for them.
The signatories belonged to Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, IIT-Guwahati, Tripura Central University, EFLU Shillong, NEHU Meghalaya, NSD-Agartala, Banaras Hindu University, IIT-Mandi, USTM Meghalaya, Jamia Millia Islamia, Pondicherry University, Birla Institute of Technology-Mesra and Gujarat Central University.
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Students of Cotton University, Tezpur University, Gauhati University, Dibrugarh University, Assam University, NIT-Silchar, Gauhati Medical College, JB College, Arya Vidyapith College, North Lakhimpur College, DKD College and Darrang College were also among those signed the letter.
On Sunday, more than 100 eminent writers from Assam wrote an open letter to Sonowal, demanding proper medical treatment for Gogoi and other activists who have tested COVID-19 positive and admitted to hospitals.
Gogoi, the adviser of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), tested positive for COVID-19 inside Guwahati Central Jail on Saturday and was shifted to GMCH for treatment.
Two other KMSS leaders, Bittu Sonowal and Dhairjya Konwar, have also tested positive and are being treated at GMCH, while the fourth associate of Gogoi -- Manash Konwar -- has tested negative.