More than 30 Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) workers, including four members of its central committee, were detained by Assam Police in Guwahati on Sunday ahead of the party’s regional volunteers’ meeting, the organisation said.
CJP co-convener Ashutosh Ranka, who was among those detained, alleged that the police had been “acting like goons” and repeatedly detaining party members despite the gathering being peaceful and held at a private property.
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“It was a peaceful meeting at a private property, but police kept detaining our team members and now all of us have been detained,” Ranka said.
The meeting was initially scheduled for 10 am at Assam Shree Parshuram Seva Sadan on Kharga Choudhury Road in Athgaon. Organisers later shifted the venue to Chowdhury Tila, opposite the Assam Secretariat, alleging that pressure had been exerted on the original venue to cancel the booking.
Ranka, who arrived in Guwahati on Saturday with other CJP members, accused the Assam government of trying to prevent the party from raising issues related to the state’s schools and man-made floods.
He alleged that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was afraid the party would expose the state’s problems. Ranka also said the workers had been threatened but would not be deterred.
Assam Police have not yet issued a statement on the detentions.
