A journalist in Assam was on Saturday charged with sedition for an article he wrote, the Hindustan Times reported.

Anirban Roy Choudhury runs a news website named Barak Bulletin in Cachar district. In November, he had written an editorial about the arrest of lawyer Pradip Dutta Roy in a sedition case.

Roy, who is also the founder of political party Barak Democratic Front, had threatened to take to the streets if a government hoarding in Assamese about the Covid-19 vaccination drive in Silchar district was not removed within 48 hours, The Indian Express reported.

Roy had said that the hoarding violated the Assam language law, according to the Hindustan Times. The Assam Official Language Act, 1960, includes provisions for the use of Bengali in the districts of Barak Valley for official purposes, The Indian Express reported.

The hoarding was removed. However, Roy was charged with sedition and promoting disharmony between groups, according to The Indian Express.

After Roy’s arrest in the case, Choudhury wrote an editorial in Barak Bulletin, criticising West Bengal organisations for not supporting the lawyer. Barak Bulletin has also published several other articles about Roy.

The man who filed a complaint against Choudhury alleged that the articles could “hamper the brotherhood between the Bengali and Assamese of Assam”, The Indian Express reported.

“We received the complaint and we have registered a case,” Cachar Superintendent of Police Raman Dhillon told the newspaper. “The investigation is under process.”

The police have also booked Choudhury under Section 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) of the Indian Penal Code. He has been ordered to report to the Silchar Sadar Police Station on Monday.

Choudhury said he will cooperate with the police. “As the founder of Barak Bulletin, I assure, Barak Bulletin is not scared,” he said in a Facebook post. “Barak Bulletin will continue to serve the governed and if that means writing against the governors, we will.”