Assam tops NCRB list for 'offences against the state'

Guwahati: Assam has topped the list of Indian states, registering cases under 'offences against the state' segment, including sedition charges, according to the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

The revelation of the NCRB data has drawn sharp criticism from the opposition and legal experts, who alleged that the BJP-led Assam government is using stringent provisions of law to "suppress the voice of dissent" with the help of a "police raj".

According to the NCRB report, Assam registered a total of 35 cases of 'offences against the state' against 36 persons in 2021.

In the 'offences against the state' segment, the NCRB has included five Indian Penal Code sections. These are 124A (sedition), 121 (waging or attempting to wage war), 121A (conspiracy to commit offences punishable by section 121), 122 (collecting arms to wage war) and 123 (concealing to facilitate design to wage war).

In May this year, the Supreme Court had put on hold the penal law under Section 124A of the IPC.

Last year, Assam registered three sedition cases against three persons, while it lodged 32 FIRs under the other four IPC sections and named 33 persons in those, NCRB said.

Assam is followed by Andhra Pradesh with 30 cases of 'offences against the state', Jammu and Kashmir with 13 cases and Manipur with 10 cases. The numbers of such cases registered by the rest of the states and union territories are in single digits.

Reacting to the National Crime Records Bureau data, Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia said that there are many examples in the state where sedition cases have been slapped for simple offences.

"The Assam government did not follow Supreme Court guidelines in registering such cases. The BJP government in Assam has unleashed a police raj in the state and harassing people unnecessarily," he told.

Saikia, a senior Congress leader, claimed that the conviction rate of such cases is very low in the state though it has filed the highest number of cases.

"This is really unfortunate that Assam Police is being used for political reasons. Even the DGP occasionally makes some unacceptable comments, which are not within the law. It is because they have political patronage," he said.