Condemning the arrest of peasant leader Akhil Gogoi, Assam PCC president Ripun Bora on Wednesday demanded his unconditional release.

Bora said Akhil has been framed with charges for crimes he never committed.

“Akhil has no record of killing people or taking up arms. Police have no such record that he is a Maoist but still he is being treated as a terrorist by the government,” he added.

Bora added that Akhil, along with Ulfa peace talks leader Jiten Dutta should be released without any conditions. “The way Akhil is being treated, his human rights are being violated. He is not a terrorist like (Ajmal) Kasab that the government is treating him like this. He should not be dragged around with his hands tied behind his back.”

Bora added that the way Akhil is being treated makes it clear that the government wants to frame him for serious charges so that the protest he was carrying out can be halted. He said Akhil is a “democratic protester”.

Bora said the Assam Human Rights’ Commission should intervene in the matter as there have been a lot of human rights violations on Akhil.

The Congress will also move the Assam Human Rights’ Commission over all the human rights violations that took place during the anti-CAA agitation in Assam.

Bora’s condemnation of Akhil’s arrest follows that of Congress leader Tarun Gogoi and CLP leader Debabrata Saikia during separate news conferences on Tuesday.

Gogoi said if there was something incriminating against Akhil he should have been arrested earlier. “Why after the violence? Second, why not take action against his organisation, the KMSS too?” he asked.

Saikia said Akhil was not a terrorist. “He is being punished by the vindictive ruling BJP because he has persistently opposed the anti-Assam policy of the (Narendra) Modi and (Sarbananda) Sonowal governments,” he added.

On Tuesday, a special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) sent Akhil to 10-day NIA custody. He was arrested under the new Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

He was first arrested by Assam police on December 12 and later handed over to the NIA where the UAPA charges were slapped on him.

He was booked under the Sections 120 (B), 124 (A), 153 (A), 153 (B) of the IPC and Sections 18, 39 of the Act.

Along with the custody, the court has also directed the NIA to ensure that Akhil gets a regular medical check-up. His family and lawyers are allowed to meet him.