Brahma, a correspondent for the Guwahati-based privately owned news channel News Live, was arrested in Kokrajhar on September 2, and held by police for six days in the northeast Indian state of Assam for questioning, according to news reports.
Police accused Brahma of having links with a faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) separatist group, and seized the journalist’s laptop and two cell phones from his home, according to reports. Police accused Brahma of providing information to the extremists about the movement of security forces, and “voluntarily [doing] the work of promoting and knowingly facilitating the violent acts of this banned organization…which compromises the national security and integrity,” according to news reports.
Brahma was denied bail on September 8, and is being held at Kokrajhar jail. Formal charges were not immediately filed, according to reports. He is at risk of being detained for 12 months without charge or trial under the National Security Act, according to Amnesty International. He faces possible anti-state charges over accusations that he promoted an outlawed separatist group after interviewing its commander, according to news reports.
Brahma has denied the allegations against him. The Journalists’ Union of Assam said the allegations against Brahma were false and came as a result of tension between local journalists and police.