A day after arresting 14 people for organising a midnight birthday bash on a busy bridge across the Brahmaputra River, the police in Guwahati have booked a couple for a similar offence.
Personnel at the Bharalumukh police station detained Surajit Mandal and his wife, Bijaya Mandal, on Wednesday (June 24, 2026), residents of Guwahati’s Fatashil Ambari area, after a video of their birthday celebration on the Kumar Bhaskar Varma Setu went viral on social media.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the ₹3,030-crore bridge, connecting Guwahati and North Guwahati, in February. It is the northeastern region’s first extradosed—somewhere between a traditional girder and a cable-stayed span—bridge.
The video showed Mr Mandal, accompanied by a few friends, celebrating his wife’s birthday by allegedly blocking a portion of the road and using electronic sparklers and firecrackers. Police did not specify the date of the celebration.
The couple was booked under Sections 285 (danger or obstruction in public way or line of navigation), 270 (public nuisance), and 125 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. “An SUV used during the celebration was seized,” an officer at the Bharalumukh police station said.
The approach to the bridge is about 300 metres from the police station.
Meanwhile, businessman Gautam Baruah and 13 others, who participated in a birthday celebration on the same bridge on the night of June 21, were granted bail on Wednesday (June 24, 2026).
“The accused were released after medical examinations, biometric verification, and other procedural requirements, as the offences registered against them were bailable in nature,” the police officer said.
Published – June 25, 2026 03:01 am IST
