Congress MLA Zakir Hussain Sikdar has been directed by CID, Assam to appear before the probe agency in a case related to violation of traffic laws during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.
Sikdar was earlier summoned by Assam Police along with another party leader for questioning in connection with a clash that took place when Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra entered Gauhati last month.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the state had summoned Sikdar and Ramen Kumar Sarma, Gauhati city Congress general secretary, to appear before the agency on 23 February at 11:30 am.
The incident led to a clash between the party workers and the police, resulting in injuries on both sides on January 23. The chief minister termed the action as ‘Naxalite’ in style and instructed the police to register a case. An FIR was lodged against Gandhi and other leaders for ‘wanton acts of violence’. Sarma stated that the ‘instigators’, including Gandhi, would be arrested after the Lok Sabha polls.
The case was handed over to the CID, and a special investigation team (SIT) was formed to probe the case. The FIR was filed under 10 different sections, including non-bailable ones. Another FIR was registered against the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and its organisers for allegedly deviating from the yatra’s permitted route in Jorhat town.
The accused have been issued notices and several of them have been interrogated. Gandhi dared the BJP-ruled state to file ‘as many cases as it can’, stating that he would not be intimidated. The yatra, led by the Congress MP, started from Manipur on 14 January and will end in Mumbai on 20 March.
The Assam leg of the march travelled 833 km through 17 districts from 18 January to 25 January. The yatra aims to cover 6,713 km in 67 days while passing through 110 districts in 15 states.
