GUWAHATI: Assam police on Sunday claimed to have arrested four persons including two juveniles in connection with stone throwing at the bus of Australian Cricket Team here on October 10 night after the T-20 cricket match with India.
The stone which shattered a window pane of the bus, was thrown when it was carrying the Australian cricket team to their hotel from the cricket stadium under police escort. However, no one was fortunately injured in the incident that caused huge embarrassment to Assam government and Assam Cricket Association, the organiser of the match.
“We have arrested four persons in connection with the attack on Australian cricket team’s bus in Guwahati,” said Assam’s director general of police (DGP) Mukesh Sahay.
The DGP informed that police arrested Monoj Medhi, Mantu Kalita and two other juveniles. While one of the accused was arrested from Rangiya about 45 kilometers away from here, the rest three were arrested from their city residences in the wee hours on Sunday.
Manoj is a Class XII student from Betkuchi Higher Secondary School in the city and resides at Lokhora area in the city. The police also recovered some empty wine bottles and empty packets of some tobacco products like guthka from the arrested persons.
The DGP said all the four had watched the T-20 match between Australia and India in mobile phone while having a drinking session on a field. Then after dinner they were sitting at Bamunpara chowk along the highway which was the route to the hotel to the Australian cricket team. Arrested Manoj Medhi had threw the stone at the bus carrying Australian team from that place., the DGP claimed.
Earlier, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on October 11 had directed the DGP to arrest the culprits involved in the attack on the bus carrying Australian cricketers on October 10 last.
A stone was thrown at the Australian team bus when they were returning from the Barsapara Stadium to the team hotel in Guwahati after winning their second T20 match against India.
Police also had arrested on suspicion two persons, Rakesh Hazoary and Pabitra Kshyatriya of Goalpara district, earlier in connection with the incident. The DGP today said the persons arrested earlier might be released if evidence of their involvement could not be ascertained.
Australian player Aaron Finch had tweeted on October 10 night that it was “pretty scary having a rock thrown through the team bus window on the way back to the hotel” and had also posted a picture of the broken bus window. The news of attack on the bus of Australian cricket was globally condemned much to the embarrassment of Assam government.