POLICE in India’s Assam state have arrested a lawmaker, a day after he remarked that the Pahalgam terror attack and the 2019 Pulwama incident could be the result of a “conspiracy” by the top BJP leadership, Indian media reported on Friday.

According to The Hindu, MLA Aminul Islam represents the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) from central Assam’s Dhing constituency.

The Assam Police filed a suo motu case for making a “misleading and instigating statement” after a video of it went viral.

Speaking at a political rally on April 23, Islam said he suspected a connection between the Pulwama attack and the Pahalgam incident.

“The day 42 Indian soldiers were killed in the Pulwama attack, I said it was a conspiracy...Till today, we don’t know how a vehicle carrying 300 kg of RDX could enter a CRPF convoy in a high-security area,” he had said.

“Now, after the Pahalgam attack, the BJP is saying the terrorists fired at the Hindus and spared the Muslims. However, the survivors said nobody’s name was asked... I suspect the Pahalgam attack was carried out by those who had perpetrated the Pulwama attack.”

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2025