Court grants 2-day parole to Assam activist Akhil Gogoi to visit mother, son

By LE Desk

Guwahati, June 26, 2021: An NIA court has granted two-day parole to Independent MLA from Sibsagar Akhil Gogoi on humanitarian grounds so that he can visit his mother and son.

After hearing a petition filed by Gogoi’s lawyers seeking permission for him to visit his family members in Guwahati and Jorhat, and people of Sibsagar, National Investigation Agency (NIA) Special Judge Pranjal Das granted him parole for 48 hours which he can take as per his convenience, news agency PTI reported.

The court, however, allowed Gogoi to visit only his ailing mother in Jorhat and his son, who has recently recovered from COVID-19, in Guwahati but forbade him from meeting the people of his constituency due to the pandemic situation.

The Raijor Dal chief will be escorted by security forces.

The NIA court cleared Gogoi and two of his associates of charges in one of the two cases lodged against him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 for his alleged role in violent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Assam in December 2019. He was cleared of the charges in the original case filed at the Chabua police station, which was later transferred to the NIA.

The NIA was investigating two cases, which were initially registered at Chandmari and Chabua police stations, related to the alleged role of Mr Gogoi and his three colleagues in the violent protests.

The court is now hearing the Chandmari police station case which was also transferred to the investigating agency. It is expected to give its order by next week.

The NIA court had rejected Gogoi’s bail application in the Chandmari police station case in August last year, following which he had filed a petition challenging it in the Gauhati High Court.

The high court had also rejected his bail application and its order was challenged by Gogoi’s lawyers in the Supreme Court where the judges decided not to “consider the petition at this stage”.

Gogoi was arrested on December 12, 2019 from Jorhat, during the anti-CAA protests in the state as a “preventive measure” in view of the deteriorating law and order situation in the state and his three associates were taken into custody the next day. They were later handed over to the NIA and booked under the UAPA.

Gogoi became the first jailed leader in Assam to win an assembly election this year and he is currently admitted at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital for treatment.