The Court also pulled up NIA, the investigative agency, for its “discouraging” conduct during the course of the investigation “to say the least”
Assam MLA and Raijor Dal President Akhil Gogoi who was jailed for his role in the anti-CAA protests was cleared of all charges by an NIA court on Thursday. He had been charged with sedition and under sections of UAPA, the anti-terror law.
In the 120-page order, the court said there were no “prima facie materials to frame charges against the accused persons” and the “ends of justice demands that the accused be discharged, without making him suffer the process of trial”, The Indian Express reported.
Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi dangoriya released from jail after being acquitted of all cases by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court.
Akhil dada jindabad ❤️@RaijorDal #AkhilGogoi #Assam #Guwahati pic.twitter.com/hwhG83rPgy— Ajij Hussain (@AjijHussain2) July 1, 2021
The activist-turned-politician, who represents the Sibsagar Assembly constituency in eastern Assam, was discharged in the first case on June 25. Gogoi was in jail since December 2019 and had spent the last few months in the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital due to ailments.
Three of Akhil Gogoi’s close aides — Dhaijya Konwar, Manas Konwar, and Bittu Sonowal — were also discharged in the case.
The Court also pulled up NIA, the investigative agency, for its “discouraging” conduct during the course of the investigation “to say the least”
It added, “The court has high expectations from a premier investigating agency like the NIA, entrusted with the profoundly important task of protecting our country and us, citizens from the menace of terrorism. The court hopes and expects that such high standards will be upheld, for sake of the country and this one will be just an exception.”
Also Read: “CAA-NRC Movement Is Still Not Over..” Says Student Activist Asif Iqbal Tanha
Speaking to the media on his release, Akhil Gogoi said, “The government has misused the UAPA and NIA — therefore, my release today is significant not just for me but it will set a precedent for the rest of the country too.”
After his release, Akhil Gogoi visited the home of Sam Stafford, the 17-year-old student who died in police firing during the anti-CAA protests in 2019, later on, Thursday. He is scheduled to leave for his constituency Sibsagar today.
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