Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that 81 “anti-nationals” have been arrested till now for “sympathising” with Pakistan following the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Phalgam.

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader said that the latest arrests included a person named Mohammed Dilbar Hussain from Sonitpur and another named Hafizur Rahman from Kamrup. “Our systems are constantly tracking anti-national posts on social media and taking action,” he added on X.

The attack at Baisaran near Pahalgam town on April 22 left 26 persons dead and 17 injured. The terrorists targeted tourists after asking their names to ascertain their religion, the police said. All but three of those killed were Hindu.

Since the attack, the BJP government in Assam has been arresting persons accused of “defending Pakistan” through social media posts or public remarks.

On April 24, Sarma had said that the state would take action against anyone directly or indirectly defending the “horrific, Pakistan-sponsored terror attack in Pahalgam”.

This came after Opposition All India United Democratic Front MLA Aminul Islam was arrested on sedition charges for claiming that the Pahalgam attack and the 2019 Pulwama attack may have been the results of conspiracies by Bharatiya Janata Party leaders.

Islam got bail in the sedition case on May 14, but was detained again under the National Security Act on the same day, PTI reported.

The Act allows for long periods of detention without trial and suspends important rights of the accused person, including the right to legal representation and immediate information about the cause of the arrest.