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The Assam Police are facing public backlash for handcuffing former All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) General Secretary Sankor Jyoti Baruah, who was arrested on Monday. The move has triggered widespread anger across the state.
People are questioning whether it was right to handcuff him, questioning if the police followed the rules.
Police arrested Baruah in connection with a clash at a petrol pump in Duliajan. The case is registered as Duliajan PS Case No. 90/2025 under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023.
Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) President Lurinjyoti Gogoi strongly criticised the police action. He said, “The law will take its course and the court will decide the matter. But we are shocked to see the police handcuffing Sankor Jyoti Baruah while taking him to the Dibrugarh court.”
Gogoi also said, “This is a shameful. It breaks the rules of the Constitution and human rights. The DGP and the Chief Minister must explain who gave the order to handcuff him.”
Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia also condemned the police action. He called the incident “unfortunate and unacceptable.”
Saikia said, “The police treated him like a dangerous criminal. Handcuffing him was unnecessary and disrespectful. It goes against his human rights.”
He also mentioned the Supreme Court’s D.K. Basu vs. State of West Bengal (1997) ruling. He said, “As per Article 21 of the Constitution and Supreme Court orders, every arrested person has human rights. Police must respect that.”
Senior journalist Manoj Goswami shared his views on social media, stating, “If the arrest is legal, the court will decide. But why was he handcuffed and surrounded by so many police? Is he a terrorist? Has he escaped custody before? If not, the police had no right to treat him like this.”
He added, “If Sankor Jyoti has done anything wrong, the court will punish him. But the police must answer for this misuse of power.”
As per Section 43(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, The police officer may, keeping in view the nature and gravity of the offence,use handcuff while making the arrest of a person or while producing such personbefore the court who is a habitual or repeat offender, or who escaped from custody, orwho has committed offence of organised crime, terrorist act, drug related crime, orillegal possession of arms and ammunition, murder, rape, acid attack, counterfeiting ofcoins and currency-notes, human trafficking, sexual offence against children, or offenceagainst the State.
So far, there is no clear proof that Baruah fits any of these categories.
Police first detained him on Sunday for questioning. On Monday, they formally arrested him and took him to the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court in Dibrugarh. The court gave him bail in Case No. 90/2025 and rejected the police’s request for a three-day remand.
But soon after his release, police arrested him again in a second case—Duliajan PS Case No. 89/2025. This case is also related to the same petrol pump incident. The legal process for the second case is still ongoing.