Guwahati, Jun 13 (PTI) Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah, Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia and a host of leaders of the party were detained by police on Monday when they staged a protest against the quizzing of Rahul Gandhi by Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case.

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Raising slogans and slamming the BJP-led government, opposition Congress leaders and scores of workers tried to march along the arterial Guwahati-Shillong Road from the state party headquarters Rajiv Bhawan near Bhangagarh area.

Anticipating the move, the Guwahati Police had already deployed a large contingent and erected barricades just outside Rajiv Bhawan to prevent the protesters from proceeding.

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When Congress leaders tried to break the barricade and move ahead, police detained dozens of its leaders and workers but later released them, a senior official said.

Along with Borah and Saikia, several MLAs, state party functionaries, office bearers of sister organisations and scores of general workers were bundled in several buses and detained for a few hours.

Gandhi was questioned for several hours by ED on Monday in New Delhi in a money laundering probe linked to National Herald newspaper. He was accompanied by a battery of party leaders and supporters.

Saikia alleged that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is using the police to protect the interests of BJP and is engaged in suppressing the peaceful democratic protests.

Gandhi was questioned for several hours by the ED on Monday in a money laundering probe linked to the National Herald newspaper after the MP reached the agency's headquarters in New Delhi accompanied by a battery of party leaders and supporters.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)