Mozumder was granted bail on Wednesday, but Sarma said multiple cases had been registered against him, and the police would arrest him in each of them. “None of the cases is connected to journalism,” he reiterated.Protests erupted in Guwahati following Mozumder’s arrest while he was covering a demonstration staged by Jatiya Yuva Shakti, the youth wing of the Assam Jatiya Parishad, against alleged financial irregularities in the bank.The Press Club of India stated, “When the bank’s managing director, Dambaru Saikia, arrived at the scene, Mozumder approached him for a news byte and asked if he could stop to reply to his questions. Saikia could be heard on camera asking him to come to his office upstairs instead, which Mozumder did. However, on coming out of the bank, he received a call from the Pan Bazar police station, asking him to report. On arrival, he was detained.”Sarma also clarified that the state government had not yet recognised digital portal workers as journalists.“We don’t give them registration, advertisements, or ID cards. So, this person does not come under the definition of a journalist as far as the state government is concerned. We consider only those who work in electronic and print media as journalists,” he said.“Our discussion is ongoing with journalists on whether we should recognise those who work in portals as journalists. If they seek registration, we are ready, but they have not come forward,” he added.
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