Guwahati, 7th April 2021: A 48-year-old writer has been arrested on Tuesday on charges of treason due to objectionable remarks about the soldiers who were martyred in the Naxalite attack in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh.
Assamese writer Shikha Sarma wrote a Facebook post on 22 soldiers martyred in Chhattisgarh’s Naxalite attack and questioned the status of the martyr, on the basis of which a case of treason was filed against her and she was arrested in Guwahati on Tuesday.
According to the news of Indian Express, Munna Prasad Gupta, Police Commissioner of Guwahati, Shikha Sarma is a Guwahati-based writer and has been arrested under other sections including Section 124A (sedition) of IPC. She will be produced in the court today on Wednesday.
She wrote in her Facebook post- ‘Salaried professionals who die while working in their duties cannot be given martyr status. By this logic, if an employee working in the electricity department dies due to electric shocks, then he should also get martyr status. Don’t play with people’s feelings. Soon after this post, two lawyers of Guwahati High Court Umi Deka Baruha and Kangkana Goswami filed a case against writer Shikha Sarma at the Dispur police station. The lawyers in their FIR said, “This is a complete disgrace to the honor of our soldiers, and such lewd remarks not only reduce the unique sacrifice of our soldiers but also a verbal attack on the spirit and sanctity of service to the nation.”
The complainants requested the authorities to take strict action against Sarma. OC Prafulla Kumar Das of Dispur police station said that a case has been registered and an arrest has been made on the basis of the FIR. According to Shikha’s Facebook profile, she is an artist at All India Radio in Dibrugarh.