Aug 21 — The Guwahati Crime Branch has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against senior journalist and YouTuber Abhisar Sharma on the basis of a complaint filed by a local resident alleging that he had uploaded a video ridiculing both the Assam and the Union governments, a senior police officer said.
The FIR invokes Sections 152 (sedition), 196 and 197 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS).
According to the complaint, Sharma uploaded a video on YouTube accusing Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of pursuing communal politics.
According to news agency PTI, Complainant Alok Baruah, a 23-year-old resident of Nayanpur, Ganeshguri, stated that the remarks were made with mala fide intent to disrepute elected governments and have the effect of provoking communal sentiments. He alleged that such comments are capable of inflaming passions, creating distrust against lawfully established authorities and promoting enmity between religious groups.
As per The Chenab Times, DIGIPUB News India Foundation has strongly condemned the FIR. In a statement issued on August 21, 2025, it said the complaint against Sharma, accusing him of promoting communal hatred and endangering national integrity through his YouTube videos, was “ludicrous” and placed the police “in poor light.”
The foundation also objected to the use of Section 152 (sedition), calling it an “archaic colonial law” that the government itself has admitted before the Supreme Court was outdated and under reconsideration. It described the FIR as a “direct assault on democratic values and fundamental rights” and demanded its immediate withdrawal, along with an end to the intimidation of journalists.
“Press freedom is the foundation of a democracy, and we are committed to defending it at all costs,” the statement signed by Dhanya Rajendran, Abhinandan Sekhri and Ritu Kapur added.
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The Chenab Times News Desk
