Assam-based graffiti artist Neelim Mahanta was detained by Dispur Police in Guwahati on Saturday over allegations of damaging public property, in the latest police action against artists in the city within a span of days.
Police also seized Mahanta’s vehicles and painting equipment, including brushes. In a related development, Chennai-based sculptor and painter Shyam Kumar was taken into custody by Dispur Police after being brought from Kerala in connection with the same alleged offence.
Mahanta, a native of North Lakhimpur, is well known across the Northeast for his public murals and his activism through art, with much of his work addressing local cultural and social issues.
His detention comes just days after Noonmati Police detained another artist, Marshall Baruah, in Guwahati. According to reports, Baruah was held as a preventive measure amid suspicions that he might organise public protests or paint politically themed murals. He was released the following day.
For Mahanta, the Saturday detention is not his first brush with the law. In March 2022, he was arrested by Arunachal Pradesh Police after being invited to Itanagar to create graffiti opposing proposed mega dam projects in the Dibang region, which have a combined capacity of 57,000 MW.
An Itanagar Police team had then travelled to his residence and taken him into custody over the artwork he had painted on the city’s ‘Wall of Harmony’.
The back-to-back detentions of artists in Guwahati have drawn attention to the mounting scrutiny faced by those using public art and murals as a medium of expression in the region.
Original Source: https://nenow.in/guwahati/assam-graffiti-artist-neelim-mahanta-detained-over-public-property-damage-allegations.html
Category: Assam,Guwahati,Northeast News,Top News
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Publish Date: 2026-10-18 11:02:00
