Guwahati (The Hawk): Barshashree Buragohain, 19, an Assamese college student, is arguably the best person to illustrate how a social media post may turn into a nightmare.
Barshashree is a B.Sc. student. from Jorhat's Devi Charan Baruah Girls' College.
Barshashree had the same fervent love of Facebook as many other young men and women of her age. She enjoyed making posts and comments on many topics without realising that one day a social media post may bring gloom to her life.
This year's May 18 was such a terrible day for Barshashree.
She had written a poem in Assamese and posted it on Facebook a few days earlier with the words "One more step towards the sun of freedom. Once again, I will commit treason."
Despite the fact that Barshashree's poem made no explicit mention of any terrorist organisation, the FIR filed against her stated that it impliedly supported the outlawed militant group United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) and hinted at a larger "criminal conspiracy" and "intent to wage war against the Indian government."
On May 18, Buragohain was detained by authorities before being released. The strict Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act led to the teen's arrest.
People from all around Assam expressed their support for the college girl after her arrest and demanded that she be released, despite the fact that her family insisted that the poem was not at all inflammatory.
However, these accounts did not impress the police.
When someone publicly expresses sympathy for a prohibited organisation and states their intention to wage war against the Indian state, the police are legally required to pursue that person, according to Special DGP G.P. Singh, who also supported the arrest.
But as criticism of the state administration and the police poured in, the chief minister was compelled to intervene on behalf of Barshashree.
The girl has been protected from losing her life, Sarma had defended the police action at the time, saying, "One must remember that 42 individuals had been given death sentences in ULFA-I camp a few days ago, which the outfit's commander Paresh Baruah may not even know."
The girl apologised for her behaviour, and her family members promised to watch out for her in the future to prevent her from engaging in similar behaviour, Sarma continued.
The police did not object to the bail request following the Chief Minister's intervention, and the 19-year-old was freed on bond.
But it took almost two months, and Barshashree was incarcerated for more than 60 days.
After being released from prison, Barshashree declared that she had gained a lot of knowledge and might never again use social media.
It's interesting to note that Barshashree was not the only person who struggled as a result of social media usage.
Another 22-year-old male from the Sivsagar district's Amguri town was imprisoned for more than three months after reportedly making a Facebook comment in favour of ULFA-I.
The comment made by Bitupan Changmai on Barshashree's poem was what caused the biggest uproar.
On May 19, Changmai was detained at his home and brought before the Sivasagar district court the following day. He was charged with violating Sections 120B, 121, and 121A of the IPC, as well as the severe Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
He had been taken into custody by the magistrate and was being held in the Sivsagar district jail.
Changmai missed some of the job interviews he had scheduled while he was in jail. His family pleaded with the state administration to let him leave so he could live a regular life.
Changmai was granted bail by a district court in Savasagar after more than three months.
A 23-year-old woman named Maina Chutia was also detained for allegedly supporting ULFA-I in a Facebook comment.
Young boxer and wushu player Maina hails from the Moranhat region. Assam's representative in a few competitions, Maina, was imprisoned for more than 1.5 months.
A crew from the Moranhat police station went to the athlete's home on June 17 and arrested her after her Facebook comment caught the attention of the police's cyber unit.
"It was difficult spending so many days in jail, but I learned a few positive things there," Maina remarked as she left the facility.
A young man from Silchar was recently taken into custody by the police after he used an emoji on a BJP MLA's Facebook post.
In recent years, Assam has seen an increase in the number of these cases.
(Inputs from Agencies)
