News Analysis India

Tag: Nagaon

  • lok sabha: Lok Sabha battle: BJP’s Sarbananda Sonowal eyes victory in Dibrugarh as Assam heads to polls in first phase

    As the vibrant Bihu festival lights up the spirit of Assam, the buzz of electoral politics resonates just as strongly through the streets of Dibrugarh.

    This key parliamentary seat is grabbing headlines as it prepares for the polls on April 19, part of the first phase of elections in the state.

    Dibrugarh is especially under the spotlight with Sarbananda Sonowal, the BJP’s high-profile candidate and Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, throwing his hat into the ring. Speaking to during his hectic campaign trail, the senior BJP leader said, “I am blessed to be given the opportunity by the party to contest as the BJP candidate for the prestigious Dibrugarh constituency. I convey my sincere thanks to the party leadership–Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Party President JP Nadda, and Home Minister Amit Shah–for their faith in me.”

    “Given the good work done by the Narendra Modi government for the people of Assam, especially for those in the Dibrugarh Lok Sabha constituency since 2014, I am very confident that people will repose their faith in the leadership of Modi ji as we move ahead towards becoming a Viksit Bharat,” the BJP candidate and Rajya Sabha MP said.

    The BJP, which first came to power in the state in 2016 with Sonowal as the Chief Minister, has been exuding confidence as its main rival, Congress, leads an alliance of opposition parties, including Asom Jatiyo Parishad (AJP). Although Congress is the main opposition in the state, the party decided not to contest its once stronghold, handing it over to its alliance partner, AJP. “Wherever I go campaigning for the BJP, I am accorded immense love and adulation from the people, who have deep faith in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji. It is this pure admiration of the people for Modi ji’s leadership that gives me confidence that the BJP-led NDA will win 12 plus seats in Assam, 22 plus seats in the Northeast, and 400 plus seats in the country. To most voters, it is a foregone conclusion that Narendra Modi will become the Prime Minister for the third consecutive term,” Sonowal said.

    The Dibrugarh Lok Sabha constituency is all set to witness a triangular fight, between Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Manoj Dhanowar. However, the main contest is seen between the BJP’s Sarbanda Sonowal and Lurinjyoti Gogoi of the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP).

    Both Gogoi and Sonowal are former leaders of the All Assam Students Union (AASU). Gogoi’s name came into prominence during the anti-CAA protests in Assam in 2019.

    With more than 1.6 million voters, the Dibrugarh Lok Sabha seat covers two administrative districts, including Dibrugarh and Tinsukia. It comprises ten Legislative Assembly constituencies: Margherita, Digboi, Makum, Tinsukia, Chabua, Lahowal, Dibrugarh, Khowang, Duliajan, Tingkhong, and Naharkatia.

    In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP’s Rameswar Teli won with 659,583 votes, defeating the Congress’ Paban Singh Ghatowar by a margin of 364,566 votes.

    Assam has 14 Lok Sabha seats where the BJP is contesting 11 seats, while its ally, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), is contesting in two seats, Barpeta and Dhubri, and the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) is contesting on the Kokrajhar seat.

    The Congress, as the main opposition party in the state, is contesting from 12 seats but is supporting their ally AJP in Dibrugarh. AAP, which is a relatively new party in the state, is contesting the Sonitpur and Dibrugarh seats.

    The election for the 14 seats in Assam is scheduled to be held over three phases.

    The first phase includes five constituencies from Upper Assam: Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Kaziranga, and Sonitpur. Except for Dibrugarh, the BJP is in direct contest with the Congress.

    The second phase on April 26 will cover the Lok Sabha constituencies of Karimganj, Silchar, Diphu, Darrang-Udalguri, and Nagaon, while the third phase will include Guwahati, Barpeta, Kokrajhar, and Dhubri seats.

  • Man accused of murder burnt alive during public hearing in Assam’s Nagaon

    By Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: A man in Assam was allegedly burnt alive after a kangaroo court held him guilty of murdering a woman.

    The deceased was identified as Ranjit Bordoloi, the prime accused in the case.

    The incident occurred at Bor Lalung village in central Assam’s Nagaon district. The police picked up five persons, including three women, for interrogation.

    According to reports, a woman, Sabita Pator, died three days ago under mysterious circumstances. Later, another woman in the village claimed that Pator was murdered by a gang of five persons including Ranjit Bordoloi

    At a subsequent public hearing in the village, Bordoloi had reportedly admitted to strangling Pator to death. Infuriated by the confession, the public allegedly tied the man to a tree, burnt him alive and buried the body. It was later exhumed by the police. 

    “We received information that a man was burnt alive after a public hearing where he was held guilty of murdering another person. We have recovered the body and detained some people,” a police officer said, adding, “Our investigation is on.”

  • Assam ‘custodial’ death: Cops believe thana set afire to destroy criminal records of drug dealers

    By Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: The Assam police are near certain that Saturday’s attack on the Batadrava police station in Nagaon was carried out by a mob to destroy criminal records of drug dealers, drug addicts, dacoits etc.

    In videos that went viral on social media, the assailants can be seen first setting fire to files and documents. In another, a woman is seen pouring fuel, suspected to be petrol, on a police two-wheeler and another woman setting fire to it.

    Nagaon Superintendent of Police Leena Doley told journalists the houses of the accused were dens of unlawful activities and they had suspicious movement of people. She said villagers told the police that the accused had criminal backgrounds.

    “One thing has clearly emerged from our investigation that the incident was not spontaneous but pre-planned. They came prepared to attack the police station and the personnel,” the SP said.

    “They had petrol with them. Possibly, they had their criminal records at the police station and they thought the records can be destroyed by torching the police station,” she added.

    The police are also probing the jehadi angle. Recently, six operatives of banned Bangladeshi terror group Ansarullah Bangla Team were arrested from lower Assam’s Barpeta district.

    The SP said the police requested the Nagaon district administration to conduct a survey in Batadrava and Dhing areas to find out if people were “unlawfully” settled there.

    So far, six persons have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the attack. They were produced in a local court and it sent them to five-day police remand.

    The police recovered a hand-made pistol, some live cartridges of 9mm pistol and psychotropic drug from the houses of some of the arrested persons.

    The mob had set afire the police station and beat up the cops after the alleged custodial death of fish trader Safiqul Islam.

    The police said Islam was brought to the police station on Friday night following receipt of a complaint that he was drunk and lying on a public road.

    “He was booked after a medical checkup. The next day, he was released and handed over to his wife. His wife even gave him some water/food. Later, he complained of sickness and he was taken to two hospitals. Unfortunately he was declared dead,” Director-General of Police Bhaskarjyoti Mahanta said.

    However, Islam’s wife alleged the police had demanded Rs 10,000 and a duck but as the family could afford only a duck, the police allegedly beat him up and killed him.

  • Drug dealer killed in police encounter in Assam

    By PTI

    GUWAHATI: A suspected drug dealer was killed and a police officer injured in an encounter in Assam’s Nagaon district early on Sunday, a senior officer said.

    With the fresh death, at least 16 accused people have been killed in police encounters in Assam since the second BJP government under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma assumed charge on May 10.

    Acting on a tip-off, personnel of Khatowal police station led by officer-in-charge Alok Datta Gupta undertook a search operation at a house in Geruamukh area around 1 am.

    “As soon as the team reached the spot, the drug dealer attacked the OC with a ‘khukuri’ (machete) targeting his neck. Datta Gupta sustained grievous injuries, particularly on his hands, while trying to save himself,” Superintendent of Police Anand Kumar Mishra told PTI.

    “The gang members, who were packing drugs into small sachets, also attacked other policemen,” the SP said, adding that a contractual driver was also injured.

    Datta Gupta had to open fire in self-defence but it is not yet clear whether the drug dealers had also used firearms in their attack, he said.

    The drug dealer, the OC and the driver were admitted to Nagaon Civil Hospital, where the doctors declared the accused brought dead, while the remaining gang members managed to escape, the officer said.

    The OC and the driver are being treated at the hospital, he said.

    Praising Datta Gupta for his bravery, the SP said, “The OC has just around one-and-a-half years of service left but the moment he received the information about the drug dealers, he went ahead with the raid with just four constables with him.

    The officer has impressed everyone with his sincerity towards duty.

    ” With the latest encounter, a total of 16 suspects have been killed and 31 injured while trying to flee from or evade police custody in Assam in the last three months.

    The unabated police encounters have led the opposition and a section of the civil society to accuse the police under the second BJP government in the state of indulging in “open killings”.

    The chief minister had earlier said that the police have been given “full operational liberty” under the ambit of the law to fight criminals.

    The Assam Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has taken suo moto cognisance of the encounters and asked the state government on July 7 to institute an inquiry into the circumstances that led to the casualties in police encounters in the last two months.

    Earlier, a New Delhi-based lawyer from Assam, Arif Jwadder, had filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) against the Assam Police for the series of encounters that have taken place under Sarma’s rule.

     

  • 3.7 magnitude earthquake hits Assam’s Nagaon

    By ANI
    NAGAON: An earthquake of a magnitude 3.7 on the Richter Scale hit the Nagaon area of Assam on Monday, said the National Centre for Seismology (NCS).

    According to the NCS, the quake took place at 1.49 pm.

    “Earthquake of Magnitude:3.7, Occurred on 08-02-2021, 13:49:15 IST, Latitude: 26.57 and Longitude: 93.14, Depth: 30 Km, Location: 35km ESE of Tezpur, Assam,” the NCS tweeted.

    Earlier in the day, an earthquake of magnitude 3.5 on the Richter scale occurred in Bathinda, Punjab.