Journalist Dilwar Hussain Mozumdar, a reporter for The CrossCurrent, was arrested on March 25, 2025, after covering a protest regarding alleged financial irregularities at the Assam Co-operative Apex Bank, where Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma serves as a director.

After interviewing the bank’s Managing Director, Dambara Saikia, Mozumdar was summoned to the Panbazar Police Station in Guwahati and arrested. Two cases were filed against him — one under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and another alleging trespass, document theft, and disruption of bank operations.

Though granted bail in the first case, he was rearrested in the second. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) strongly condemned the arrest, calling it “a blatant attempt to intimidate and silence independent journalism.”

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sarma defended the arrest, claiming that reporters from independent online platforms are “not real journalists” because they lack official accreditation.

Question:
Is this the protection of law — or the suppression of truth and independent journalism in India?

#PressFreedom #MediaUnderThreat #FreeDilwarHussainMozumdar #JournalismIsNotACrime #ProtectThePress #TruthMatters #IndependentMedia #DemocracyAtRisk #VoiceOfJournalists #AssamNews