A special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has cleared Sibsagar MLA Akhil Gogoi in one of two cases he was slapped with under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967, for allegedly inciting violence during the December 2019 protests in Assam against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).
The MLA, then an activist associated with pressure group Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, has been in jail since his arrest in these two and several other cases.
On Tuesday, NIA Special Judge Pranjal Das did not frame charges against Mr. Gogoi in connection with the UAPA case registered in eastern Assam’s Chabua police station. The court also cleared two of his associates – Jagatjit Gohain and Bhupen Gogoi – of all charges under the same Act.
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But the court framed charges against the MLA’s third associate, Bhaskarjyoti Phukan, under a section of the Indian Penal Code for joining unlawful assembly armed with a lethal weapon. His case has been transferred to a local court in Dibrugarh.
The UAPA case pending against Mr. Gogoi lodged at the Chandmari police station in Guwahati was later transferred to the NIA. He had approached the Gauhati High Court after the special court rejected his bail application in this case in August 2020.
He went to the Supreme Court after the High Court also rejected his bail plea. The apex court had decided not to “consider the petition at this stage”.
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