GUWAHATI, Nov 13 - Scores of Congress workers were detained here today during a protest by the principal Opposition party seeking a CBI inquiry into the death of senior journalist Parag Bhuyan.
The Congress party had announced plans to gherao the DGP�s office at Ulubari here this morning.
A large number of Congress workers, along with members of Youth Congress, Mahila Congress, Seva Dal, Youth Brigade and NSUI assembled under the Ulubari flyover at around 11 am.
They wanted to march to the DGP office. However, a large contingent of police and CRPF personnel were present at the spot since early morning. The police erected barricades at the site to prevent the protesters from marching towards the DGP�s office. Many of the protesters tried to jump over the barricades. There was also some scuffle between the police and the protesters.
The Congress workers shouted slogans against the government and demanded a CBI inquiry into the death of Bhuyan. They also demanded protection for journalists and accused the BJP-led State government of failure on the law-and-order front.
Over a hundred protesters were detained. Among them were Assam Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Balika Pegu, Guwahati District Congress Committee president Kushal Sarma, APCC secretaries Prafulla Das and Imdad Hussain, and State Youth Congress president Kamrul Islam Choudhury. They were later released. Congress members accused the police of resorting to high-handed tactics to prevent them from holding their protest.
It may be recalled that a senior journalist, former student leader and social activist Parag Bhuyan died in a mysterious road mishap in front of his residence at Kakopathar on Wednesday night.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Congress leaders comprising former Union Minister Paban Singh Ghatowar, former State Minister Pranatee Phukan, Doomdooma MLA Durga Bhumij and former MLA Sushanta Borgohain, among others, visited Kakopathar and met the family of Bhuyan today.
Assam Jatiya Parishad demand: Meanwhile, demanding a thorough probe into the death of senior journalist Parag Bhuyan, the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) has written to State DGP Bhaskarjyoti Mahanta urging him to include the political persons linked to the investigative news reports recently filed by Bhuyan, within the ambit of the probe.
Chief convenors of the regional party Basanta Deka and Dr KG Bhattacharyya expressed concern at the growing attacks on journalists of the State. They said that the initial response of the police in the Parag Bhuyan case was very slow.
�For the past couple of weeks, he was regularly doing some investigative reporting against some vested interest groups that have strong political connections. Unless these people are brought within the ambit of the investigation, the probe will be incomplete,� the AJP leaders added.