Calls grow for release of three youths arrested over Assam protest

Guwahati: Support is mounting for the release of three young men held in Assam. Laluk police arrested Monjur Rahman, 23, Ashraful Islam, 21, and Abdul Kasem, 23, on July 23. The trio allegedly organized a demonstration backed by the Cockroach Janata Party. They wanted the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak.

The detainees live in Laluk. They used a WhatsApp group to coordinate the event. Families insist the protest was peaceful. The state charged them under Laluk Police Station Case No. 149/26. The specific counts include sections 61(2)(b), 353(1), and 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Supporters claim the arrests are unnecessary. They argue the government already addressed the core grievance. "The purpose of the agitation has already been achieved," family members stated while calling for the trio's immediate release. Local youth groups maintain the men were only exercising their democratic rights.

Police have kept the men in custody. No fresh statements or updates on the investigation have surfaced since the arrests. Local community members continue to pressure the administration to drop the case following the recent change in political circumstances.