Guwahati:

In a major development, the Assam government has instructed the police not to forward cases of eligible individuals who entered India before 2014 – the cut-off date under the CAA rules – directly to the Foreigners Tribunals. 

They should instead be encouraged to apply for citizenship through the CAA, the government said, adding that their applications will be assessed by the Government of India based on the facts and circumstances of each case. A separate register will be maintained for this category of individuals.

“Eight people have applied under CAA and of them, only two appeared for the citizenship interview. We will give a chance to everyone whose cases are pending at different courts to apply for CAA. We cannot withdraw the pending cases in court. However, all Foreigners Tribunal judges are also aware of CAA and we will ask public prosecutors to mention CAA in the cases,” Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told the media in Guwahati this morning.

“We have also asked the police that before filing a Foreigner’s Tribunal case, we should allow them to apply under the CAA,” he said.

However, this will not apply to individuals who entered the state from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, or Pakistan after December 31, 2014, irrespective of their religion.

These individuals will be sent directly to the Foreigners Tribunal for further action.

In Assam, the Foreigners Tribunal decides if a person accused of being an illegal immigrant is a foreigner or an Indian citizen.

Silchar:

Fifteen people were injured in Assam’s Silchar town as an allegedly drunk man went on a rampage with his SUV, hitting people, vehicles and whatever else came in his way, before coming to a halt because of a bad road, police said on Saturday.

The incident happened on Friday night, triggering panic in the town, they said.

The SUV first hit three people near the municipal office and, while trying to flee, injured another three at Capital Point. After that, it struck three motorbikes and some e-rickshaws at Trunk Road near the radio station, police said.

As the rampage went on, people started following the SUV on their two-wheelers. The vehicle came to a stop at the Tennis Club Point as it could not move forward due to the bad condition of the road, they said.

Police rushed to the spot and took the car along with the driver into custody, they added.

Several bottles of liquor were found in the car, a police officer said.

“A total of 15 people were injured in the incident,” he said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Guwahati:

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said the state’s flood situation was ”under control” but everything depends on the weather conditions during the next few days. The affected people are being provided relief and plans are being drawn up for their rehabilitation along with the repair of damaged infrastructure, he said.

”The situation is under control but everything depends on the weather. If there is no further rain in Arunachal Pradesh and South Tibets, the situation will improve, but it might worsen if there is more rainfall”, Mr Sarma told reporters after reviewing the flood situation in the severely affected river island district Majuli.

The situation is manageable now but if it starts raining again, water from the Brahmaputra river and its tributaries will re-enter the affected villages since the embankments that were breached are still open, the Chief Minister said. ”As of now, I am hoping the weather will improve and the situation will be better with no more rainfall in Arunachal Pradesh and Upper Assam,” he said.

An update on #AssamFloods

Situation is under control, and if there are no further rains in Arunachal and South Tibet, things will improve

Be it funds or the support of NDRF & Armed Forces, Govt of India is standing completely with the people of Assam pic.twitter.com/koSqPcFYYO

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) July 4, 2024

The central leadership is ”all along with us and an active partner in handling the situation in the state”, Mr Sarma said. ”Be it funds or the support of NDRF and armed forces, the Government of India is standing completely with the people of Assam”, he added.

Mr Sarma said that many people are facing hardships due to floods and he interacted with many families to assure them that they will be provided with timely relief as per the norms. ”Those who have lost their homes will be provided with houses and those who have suffered any other kind of loss will also be compensated,” he added.

Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister visited various areas of Guwahati city which have been inundated due to rising waters of the Brahmaputra.
He directed the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) to take measures to drain out water accumulated there.

He said that appropriate steps will be taken to solve the flood problem in these areas. He directed the Water Resources Department and the GMDA to address the issues that cause flooding in the area, including the construction of sluice gates. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Dispur:

The Assam Rifles has launched Operation Jal Raahat II to prevent rising water level from breaching the riverbanks and prevent flooding in residential areas in Imphal East and Imphal West districts.

“In response to urgent requests Assam Rifles launched Operation Jal Raahat II to combat rising water levels and prevent flooding in residential areas of Imphal West and East districts,” the Assam Rifles said in a statement.

A flood control room has been activated with the helpline number 7075578116, it said.

Reports of severe water-logging and rivers reaching high flood levels have been received from Imphal West, Imphal East, and Thoubal districts, it said.

The Assam Rifles said it received a requisition request from the civil administration on July 2 for deployment of two humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) columns in New Checkon and Mahabali temple In Imphal.

The prompt actions of Assam Rifles resulted in safely rescuing 550 civilians including men, women, and children and preventing the overflow of the Imphal River to adjoining areas.

One of these columns moved to Irilbung and fortified the banks of the Iril River. Additionally, more HADR columns were deployed at Singjamei, Nambol and Keithelmanbi.

A mobile medical unit was set up to provide immediate medical assistance to rescued people, the Assam Rifles said.

The successful execution of this flood relief operation serves as a testament to the unwavering dedication, professionalism, and preparedness of the Assam Rifles, it said.

New Delhi:

A cash-for-marks scam has been detected in Assam in which eight people have been arrested. The men, the police say, have been conducting digital tampering of marksheets. The police stumbled on the scam during an investigation into the discrepancies in the marksheet of a student from Ganesh Lal Choudhury College, which is affiliated to Gauhati University. The police are widening the scope of the investigation as more arrests are expected.

The college had lodged a complaint with the police over the discrepancies in the marksheet of Azizul Haque. The marksheets displayed inflated marks when compared with the marks he actually obtained.

During interrogation, the student admitted that he paid Rs 10,000 to get his marks changed in the first, third, fourth and fifth semesters.

The arrests come amid the outrage over the NEET-UG paper leak case, in which arrests have been made in several states.

“Those responsible for operating the computer system dealing with marksheets at Gauhati University take money from students to increase their marks,” said Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

“Six cases have come to light in Barpeta. The prime accused in the case has been caught. The case has been analysed under my watch for the past seven days. It is being probed thoroughly,” he added.

Sources in the CID (Criminal Investigation Department) said Gauhati University had outsourced the Integrated University Management System (IUMS) to a third party operator. The ITI Limited is a Central government undertaking, which was responsible for data entry. The tampering happened at their end, sources said.

The arrests were made from four districts — Barpeta, Dhubri, Kamrup (Metro) and Nagaon.

Those arrested have been identified as K Krishnamurthy, Ismail Hussain, Alamgir Khan, Moinul Haque, Abul Baser, Aminul Islam (Kalgachia), Hamezuddin (Nagaon) and Shivtosh Mahato (Dhubri).Krishnamurthy is seen as the kingpin. He was heading the team at the university, luring in students.

Gauhati University has started an internal investigation.

The IUMS is the heart of the university’s digital initiative, handling all major functions of the administration, including admission, examination, re-evaluation of answer scripts, finance, storage, grievance management, student database and alumni database.

CID sources have added that they have found at least 10 instances of inflated marks and no less than 50 students had apparently paid up.

A man suspected of stealing a cellphone from a house in Assam’s Sivasagar district, has been beaten to death by the locals. Palu Gowala, 27, was taken to the hospital by the police where he succumbed to his injuries.

Police sources said Palu Gowala and another man, Dadu Orang, were accused of breaking into the home of a local in the quiet neighborhood of Sivasagar’s Phukan Nagar and stealing a mobile phone. They were caught and soon a mob in took matters into their own hands. Both men sustained extensive injuries in the beating that followed.

Cellphone videos from the spot captured part of the torture. One of the men is seen writhing on the ground while two men, one of them armed with a stick, are heard threatening him. The man’s answer fails to placate them.

As a few of the women egg them on, the man with the stick beats him mercilessly. Several other men armed with sticks are seen standing around. There are many bystanders but no one volunteers to help the victims. In the intermittent silence, only the whack of the stick can be heard.

A police team that arrived at the location later, rescued both men and took them to a local hospital. A case has been registered and investigations are on.

Guwahati/Agartala:

Several northeastern states, including Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram, and Assam (southern part), remained cut off from the rest of the country by rail as railway tracks were waterlogged and damaged after landslides triggered by incessant rain in the aftermath of Cyclone Remal, officials said on Wednesday.

A Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) official said that railway tracks were inundated due to heavy rains or damaged in at least ten places in the New Haflong-Bandarkhal section under the Lumding division in southern Assam’s Dima Hasao district, which is a connecting route to south Assam, Tripura, Manipur, and Mizoram.

“Our engineers and workers are working round-the-clock to restore rail services but heavy rain and adverse weather conditions badly affected the restoration work,” the NFR official told IANS.

He said that full-fledged work could not be started until the rain stopped.

The NFR had cancelled a large number of express, passenger and goods trains bound for south Assam, Tripura, Manipur, and Mizoram since Tuesday.

According to the NFR official, passenger and goods train services have been affected in the region since April 25 owing to heavy landslides causing damage to railway tracks in the Jatinga Lumpur-New Harangajao section under the Lumding division after heavy rains lashed the mountainous Dima Hasao district.

Considering the damaged railway tracks and weak soil in the region, the NFR recently operated a limited number of trains in the daytime on the hilly route, besides regulating long-distance and express trains. The disruptions in services caused a major shortage of transport fuel — petrol and diesel — and other essential goods in southern Assam, Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur. Due to the heavy rain and landslides, highway connectivity was also affected in these states, which are heavily dependent on fuel, essential items, food grains and other commodities from the outside.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Guwahati/Agartala:

Ahead of the approaching severe cyclonic storm “Remal”, disaster management authorities and security forces in various northeastern states have been placed on high alert and the district administrations asked to take advance precautionary steps.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast, Cyclone Remal has made landfall between Sagar Island along West Bengal and Khepupara in Bangladesh, intensifying into a severe cyclone. A maximum sustained wind speed of 110-120 kmph, gusting to 135 kmph, prevails around the cyclone centre.

Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur, and Mizoram governments have issued separate advisories and asked the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Forces, district administrations and other departments to maintain maximum vigilance.

The Assam government has taken measures to ensure the safety and well-being of its citizens. The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said the IMD has warned of extremely heavy rainfall over Assam along with other northeastern states on May 27 and 28.

An Orange alert has been issued for Dhubri, South Salmara, Bongaigaon, Bajali, Tamulpur, Barpeta, Nalbari, Morigaon, Nagaon, Hojai, and West Karbi Anglong districts and Red Alert for extremely heavy rainfall in Chirang, Goalpara, Baksa, Dima Hasao, Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj districts, an ASDMA statement said.

The Tripura government has closed all educational institutions including universities on May 27 and 28.

The state’s Revenue Secretary Brijesh Pandey said in view of Remal’s impact on the coastal region of West Bengal, including Kolkata, all kinds of flight operations in the Kolkata-Agartala route were suspended till 9 a.m. on Monday.

Flight services on other routes — Agartala-Guwahati, Agartala-Delhi, and Agartala-Bengaluru — are operating normally.

The first cyclone in the Bay of Bengal in this pre-monsoon season, it has been named “Remal” (or sand in Arabic), according to a system of naming cyclones in the Indian Ocean region.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Guwahati:

The police in Assam have seized fake currency notes worth Rs 1,85,000 and also arrested one person in this connection, an official said on Thursday.

An official said that the Special Task Force (STF) conducted an operation based on specific input in the Puberun Path area in Guwahati.

One person identified as Shazarul Islam, 30, was arrested.

Islam is a resident of Daulatpur village in Lakhimpur district.

Two mobile phones and cash from his possession were also seized by the police.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Guwahati:

Padma Shri awardee Birubala Rabha, renowned for her fight against witch hunting, passed away at a hospital here on Monday after a long battle with cancer, doctors said.

Survived by two sons, a daughter, and other relatives, Rabha, 75, was admitted to the State Cancer Institute of Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) on April 22 due to severe weakness, GMCH superintendent Abhijit Sarma said.

“She has been a patient of advanced stage carcinoma oesophagus since 2021 and was undergoing treatment at our hospital. She was put on a metallic stent because of difficulty in swallowing six month ago,” he added.

As Rabha’s condition deteriorated, she was admitted to the hospital last month and was shifted to ICU on May 4, followed by mechanical ventilator support on Sunday as she developed respiratory distress, Sarma said.

“After all possible intensive care, she breathed her last at 9:23 am due to multi-organ failure,” he added.

Rabha, whose son and brother were victims of witch hunting, had fearlessly led her NGO ‘Mission Birubala’ amidst extreme hostility in remote areas. Despite facing numerous attempts on her life by superstitious villagers branding her a witch, she continued her courageous work.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed his deep condolences over the passing away of the social activist.

“I am deeply distressed to learn about the passing away of Padma Shri Smt Birubala Rabha. Through her untiring efforts to end social evils, she illuminated the paths of scores of women with hope and confidence.

“Rising through a challenging life, she epitomised courage against all odds. Assam will forever remain grateful for her leadership in serving society,” he posted on X.

Representing the Assam government, Environment and Forest Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary reached the GMCH and offered his condolences.

“It is a big loss to the state and the country. We will never get another person like Birubala Rabha, who defied all odds and stood up for humanity,” he added.

Her remains will be taken to her home in Goalpara district and the last rites will be performed with full state honours, Patowary said.

Born in remote Thakurvila village in Goalpara in 1949, she had a struggling childhood. Her father died when she was six, forcing her to drop out of school after class 5 and help her mother run the household. Rabha was just 15 years old when she was married to a farmer with whom she had three children.

Rabha was instrumental in the enactment of the Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Act, 2015, which made every offence related to witch hunting as cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable, making provisions for imprisonment up to seven years along with a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh for identifying and calling a person witch.

Her struggle against the menace began when her son was branded a ‘witch’ and diagnosed to die within three days because he was mentally not sound. Her family was isolated for three years after she started raising her voice against witch hunting.

Rabha formed ‘Mission Birubala’ in 2012 to create awareness among people against the social evil and all forms of superstitious beliefs, besides providing rehabilitation to the victims of witch hunting menace. The organisation has saved lives of 55 victims so far in Majuli, Kokrajhar, Goalpara and Tinsukia districts.

Recognising her work to protect lives in rural India, she was conferred with the fourth highest civilian award of the country ‘Padma Shri’ in 2021.

Under the project ‘1,000 Women’, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 by The Swiss Peace, Switzerland. She received Honorary Doctorate from Gauhati University, besides being recognised with innumerable awards by various organisations.

Condolence messages have started pouring in from different quarters, hailing Rabha as a symbol of crusader against superstition and upholder of mankind.

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said Rabha Baideo (elder sister) battled against the superstitions and prejudices entrenched in the society, exemplifying the strength of women through unwavering determination and courage.

“Inspired by her work, we shall always remain motivated to persistently serve the community, irrespective of challenges. The news of Baideo’s passing fills my heart with deep sorrow. Her departure leaves an irreplaceable void in Assam’s social fabric,” he added.

Assam Jatiya Parishad President Lurinjyoti Gogoi also said Rabha’s contribution will always be remembered and her ideals will be a guide for every generation to come.

Condoling her death, Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah said Rabha’s demise is an irreparable loss to Assamese society. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)