AASU office attack accused arrested in Bengal village

A man has been arrested in West Bengal for his alleged role in inciting a mob to attack and vandalise the All Assam Students Union's (AASU) office in Silapathar town of Assam.

Subodh Biswas was arrested by a joint team of the Assam Police and the CID around 4 a.m. on Wednesday from a remote village close to Indo-Bangladesh border in North 24-Paraganas district of West Bengal. He was hiding in the house of a retired teacher, the Assam Police said, adding that one of his accomplices has also been arrested.

The police said they will present him in a local court on Wednesday and then take him to Assam to stand trial.

On March 6, Subodh Biswas, who heads Nikhil Bharat Bengali Udbastu Samannay Samiti (NBBUSS), addressed a rally demanding citizenship to Hindu Bangladeshis at Silapathar in Assam's Dhemaji district.

The police said he then incited a mob to attack and vandalise the office of the All Assam Student's Union, which had been opposing the Centre's move to amend the Citizenship Act.

Protests were held in parts of the state since then, demanding immediate arrest and exemplary punishment to Biswas.

The Assam government ordered a probe into the AASU office attack and the state police set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look for Biswas, who went missing immediately after the incident.

--IANS

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