Press Club of India Condemns Arrest of Journalist Dilawar Hussain Mozumder by Assam Police
New Delhi, March 26, 2025: The Press Club of India (PCI) has strongly condemned the late-night arrest of senior digital media journalist and Assistant General Secretary of the Guwahati Press Club, Dilawar Hussain Mozumder, by Assam Police. The journalist was detained without prior intimation to his family or media organization, drawing sharp criticism from press bodies and journalists across the country.
Mozumder, the chief reporter at The CrossCurrent, was taken into custody at Guwahati’s Pan Bazar Police Station on the afternoon of March 25, shortly after covering a protest organized by a sister organization of the Assam Jatiya Parishad. The protest was staged outside Assam Co-Operative Apex Bank’s headquarters, amid allegations of a major recruitment scam involving the bank’s management. Notably, the bank’s board includes Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and BJP MLA Biswajit Phukan.
According to reports, Mozumder was summoned to the police station after attempting to interview the bank’s managing director, Dambaru Saikia, who had asked him to continue the conversation in his office. Shortly afterward, he received a call from the police station and was subsequently detained.
The CrossCurrent reported that the arrest was linked to a trespassing complaint by the MD, even though the journalist had entered the premises on the MD’s own request. Mozumder has been actively reporting on the alleged scam for several weeks.
The journalist was denied access to legal counsel, medical aid despite being diabetic, and even Iftar food brought by his wife. It was only after 11 p.m. that his wife was allowed to briefly meet him. After midnight, police claimed he had been arrested under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for allegedly hurting the sentiments of a person from the Bodo community, but failed to provide further details, including the complainant’s name or the context of the allegation.
Calling the detention and arrest a “grave infringement” of press freedom as protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, PCI urged Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who also serves as the Home Minister, to intervene. It stressed that the SC/ST Act must not be misused to target journalists, especially those from minority and backward communities.
The PCI reiterated its demand for transparency and accountability in the handling of the case and expressed solidarity with the Guwahati Press Club’s protest against the incident.