Activist Akhil Gogoi on Tuesday, 23 March, penned a letter alleging physical and mental torture while he was in custody. He claimed that he was offered immediate bail by the National Investigations Agency (NIA) on the condition that he joined either the BJP or the RSS. Gogoi has been imprisoned ever since his involvement in the Anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (anti-CAA) protests.
The letter, which was released by Gogoi’s new political outfit Raijor Dal, said that the RTI activist was taken to Delhi on 18 December 2019 without the judicial permission, PTI reported.
“At the NIA headquarter, I was lodged in lockup no. 1 and was given only one dirty blanket. I slept on the floor in 3-4 degree celsius of temperature,” PTI quoted Gogoi’s letter.
According to the letter, the NIA officials offered the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti leader instant bail if he joined the RSS, PTI reported.
“When I was arguing against the insulting offer, they came out with another proposal of joining the BJP. They said I could contest the Assembly against a vacant seat and become a minister.”Gogoi’s letter, according to PTI
The peasant leader also alleged that he was offered Rs 20 crore to resign from the peasant body Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) and start an NGO that would work against the Assamese people’s conversion to Christianity, PTI reported.
Further, Gogoi claimed that when he turned down all their proposals, they offered him a meeting with the chief minister and an influential minister of Assam, which he turned down too.
Upon his refusal, he was reportedly called a “disobedient citizen” and charged in extreme cases.
The letter said, “I was threatened with dire consequences if I don’t accept their proposals. Death threats also came. I was threatened with at least 10 years of imprisonment. With so much physical and mental torture, I became restless on the night of 20 December.”
Gogoi was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act amid the large-scale anti-CAA protests in Assam.
(With inputs from PTI)
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