GUWAHATI: Gauhati High Court has rejected a bail application of jailed peasant leader and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) activist Akhil Gogoi, a development which has hurt his supporters, also triggering protests in parts of Assam.
A division bench of the court on Thursday morning heard the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) leader’s bail plea in connection with a case registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) at Chandmari police station here for his alleged role in the anti-CAA protests in the state.
Gogoi was arrested amid the agitation against the contentious CAA in December 2019 and has been in jail since then.
Multiple cases have been registered against him, including charges of sedition and provisions of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. He has however secured bail in 12 of the 13 cases registered against him, including another one by NIA.
The court’s decision on Thursday means that the peasant leader would have to remain in jail even as the clamour for his release has grown over the past few months.
“As of now, he will have to remain in jail. But we will approach the Supreme Court with an appeal seeking bail for him,” Gogoi’s advocate told reporters outside the court.
Meanwhile, the High Court’s decision has angered his supporters and well-wishers across the state.
Members of Raijor Dal, the regional political party floated by KMSS and several groups, who are in Moran in Upper Assam for the party’s three-day convention, vented their ire against the Sarbananda Sonowal-led government.
Party activists along with representatives of KMSS and its student wing, alleged that the incumbent government has “murdered democracy” and that it was a “black day” for the state’s people.
Some even said that he would contest the upcoming Assembly elections from jail.
“This is nothing but a conspiracy and injustice as he has been in jail for over a year now. We will continue to stage our protest, demanding immediate release of Akhil Gogoi,” one of the protesters said.