Artist, youth leader sent to 14-day judicial custody over 'objectionable' graffiti in Bharalumukh protest
Following their arrest, Marshall Baruah and Ankuman Bordoloi were charged under multiple sections, including 351(3)
Guwahati, Nov 11: Graffiti artist Marshall Baruah and Ankuman Bordoloi, publicity secretary of the Jatiya Yuva Vahini, have been sent to 14 days of judicial custody by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Court on Monday.
The duo was arrested by the Bharalumukh police earlier on Monday morning for creating "objectionable" graffiti during a protest against tree-felling for the construction of a proposed flyover in the area.
The police presented Baruah and Bordoloi in court after their arrest, with a case (200/24) filed against them under multiple sections of the BNS, including 351(3) and 3PDPP.
The charges also include Unlawful Assembly and Damage to Public Property. However, their defence counsel, Anisur Rahman, expressed optimism that the charges were not particularly severe and hoped the court would release them soon.
"The police have invoked 8 to 9 sections, and we argued before the court that the duo did not damage any public property, as the graffiti was painted on a flex sheet. We also informed the honourable court that the duo could not have harmed the Chief Minister, given his Z-Plus security. However, our bail petition was rejected. We will now file another petition in the High Court tomorrow,” Rahman told The Assam Tribune.
Earlier on Sunday, three individuals—Marshall, Ankuman and Kamal Kumar—were detained by police for creating graffiti with the slogan "Kick Himanta Save Nature".
However, reports later indicated that the slogan was altered to "Please Himanta Save Nature" after it sparked controversy. Kumar, the third detainee, was released after several hours at the police station around 11 pm on Sunday.
The arrest of the two protesters comes amid protests in Bharalumukh over the proposed flyover project, which involves felling of approximately 71 trees along the railway tracks.
The residents of Bharalumukh and students from local educational institutions have been protesting the move for the past four days. On Saturday, protesters formed a human chain on Rohini Kumar Choudhury Road at 11 am, organised by the Bharalumukh Nagarik Samannay Raksha Samiti, to voice their opposition to the tree-felling plans.
Amidst growing public support, tensions escalated when the three protesters were detained, prompting the press and supporters to gather outside the Bharalumukh Police Station, where police restricted access to the station on Sunday.
