Guwahati, March 28: Journalist Dilwar Hussain Mozumdar, assistant general secretary of the Guwahati Press Club and a reporter for The Cross Current, was granted bail on Friday after his controversial arrest sparked widespread protests in Assam and beyond.

The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of Kamrup Metro, Hirok Jyoti Das, granted his bail against a security bond of ₹20,000, despite the city police’s request for five-day custody.

However, due to procedural delays in signing the bail bond, Mozumdar had to spend the night in Guwahati Central Jail and is expected to be released on Saturday.

Mozumdar was re-arrested shortly after securing bail in his first case, this time in connection with Panbazar Police Station Case No. 111/25. The charges—registered under Sections 329, 324(4), 351(2), 309(4), and 115 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)—were all bailable. However, this second arrest intensified protests from journalists, activists, and civil rights groups, who condemned it as an attempt to suppress press freedom.

In the early hours of Friday, a police team conducted a search at Mozumdar’s residence and at Bhrigu Market, reportedly in pursuit of certain documents.

Mozumdar’s case has ignited a larger debate on press freedom, particularly concerning digital journalism in Assam. Protests erupted across Guwahati, led by members of the Guwahati Press Club (GPC), who denounced the journalist’s re-arrest as an intimidation tactic.

The movement quickly gained momentum, spreading to New Delhi, where members of the Press Club of India (PCI) demonstrated their solidarity by wearing black badges at their workplaces. Various political parties and non-political organizations also joined the call for Mozumdar’s unconditional release, describing the charges as baseless and an attempt to silence independent journalism.

Mozumdar’s initial arrest stemmed from Case No. 110/25, which included charges under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, alongside BNS provisions. While the judiciary granted him bail, activists argue that the back-to-back arrests signal an alarming trend of targeting journalists who challenge powerful institutions.

As Mozumdar awaits his formal release from jail, journalists, rights groups, and political observers continue to demand accountability and transparency in the legal proceedings against him. Many see his arrest as a test case for press freedom in Assam, with implications for media independence across the country.

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