Guwahati: The Assam Police detained a retired school principal from Cachar district for a Facebook comment on the Delhi Red Fort blast that killed 13 people. The post, which read “Election is coming,” was seen by authorities as an attempt to politicise a sensitive national security issue.
The detained individual, Nazrul Islam Barbhuiyan, is a resident of Durgapur and a former principal of Banskandi NMHS School. Cachar Assistant Superintendent of Police (Crime) Rajat Kumar Pal said Barbhuiyan was taken into custody after the social media monitoring cell flagged his comment. He was questioned about his intent and warned against creating divisions through such remarks.
Cachar Senior Superintendent of Police Partha Protim Das stated that the comment was “inappropriate given the gravity of the situation.” He added that the motive behind the post remains under investigation.
The detention follows Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s renewed social media crackdown, launched after the April Pahalgam attack. Sarma claimed that several users from a particular community were making light of the Red Fort blast, calling them “terrorist supporters.”
Sarma also confirmed that five Muslim men have been arrested for allegedly spreading inflammatory content online in connection with the Delhi blast. The accused were identified as Mattiur Rahman from Darrang, Hassan Ali Mondal from Goalpara, Abdul Latif from Chirang, Wajhul Kamal from Kamrup, and Nur Amin Ahmed from Bongaigaon.
Rights groups have criticised the ongoing crackdown, alleging misuse of the monitoring drive to target Muslim youths. Since April, over 90 Muslims have been detained under the initiative.
