Atleast five protestors belonging to Raijor Dal were arrested by Dispur police on Saturday for staging a protest demanding the release of peasant leader Akhil Gogoi near Ganesh Mandir in Ganeshguri without permission. The protestors from the newly floated party founded by Akhil Gogoi were planning to demonstrate a 'Jail Bharo' agitation. However, as Joint Commissioner of Police, Debaraj Upadhyay, informed there was no prior permission to taken to conduct the protest causing disruption of traffic movement.
Assam Rifles and Customs department have seized heroin worth Rs 29.60 lakh from Mizoram's Champhai district and apprehended a Myanmarese national. The contraband was seized during a joint operation at Zote village in Champhai district on the Indo-Myanmar border on Friday, the official said. In a similar incident, Assam Rifles and Customs department seized 240 bags of smuggled areca nuts in Tlangsam-Ruantlang area in Champhai district on Friday and arrested one person for possessing the smuggled goods. The illegal goods worth Rs 40.32 lakh was smuggled from Myanmar.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 1 lakh to each of the family of the landless of Laika Dadhia for rehabilitation. The chief minister announced the package today while attending the 38th triennial convention of the All Assam Tribal Sangha at Nelli in Morigaon district. Meanwhile, the protestors at Laika Dadhia denied accepting the chief minister's new package saying that they don't want money and that they should be allotted with land for rehabilitation. "We have faith in our Chief Minister and we respect his ideologies but we want to say him that he shouldn't lure us with money. We don't want money, we want land. The government has also constituted a committee on December 30 and asked to submit a report by January 31. We will wait till tomorrow and if the government doesn't come up with any decision we will occupy the land proposed by the government for rehabilitation," said one of the protestor.
Thirty thousand teachers will be appointed in Assam on February 5. This will be the highest ever appointment process in the state after the TET appointment, said Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday. The appointment process in the state has been transparent since 2011 and 1 lakh teachers have been appointment during his tenure, the minister said while distributing appointment letters to the teachers at Khanapara today. "The appointment of teachers since 2001 has been said as illegal and it is from those teachers that 4511 teachers have received appointment letters today," the minister said. He further stated that these teachers were working without salary during the Congress and AGP-led government in the state. Around 12,000 teachers were appointed at that time and they were doing their job without pay and despite of their hard work those appointments of teachers were said as illegal by the court and today we have appointed those irregular teachers.
The United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA-I) on Saturday has mailed a statement regarding the two employees of the private oil company Quippo Oil and Gas Infrastructure Limited who were kidnapped from Kumchaikha hydrocarbon drilling site in Arunachal Pradesh's Changlang district on December 20. Besides resolving the issue of prisoner exchange conflict between the Quippo and the militant group, the government has planned for delaying tactics to rescue the kidnappers. This operation will be carried out by the Unified Command and the intelligence agency, DIA, RAW, IB, NIA, and others.
A female teacher was reportedly injured on Saturday afternoon by Assam cabinet minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's convoy during a protest by a group of teachers in Guwahati's Khanapara.As per reports, the teacher, one Deepa Payeng, ran after the convoy in protest against not receiving an appointment letter from the state government. She alleged that the minister, who was in his car, did not listen to her and sped away. The convoy brushed against her body which resulted in Payeng falling down on the ground and sustaining injuries. Earlier on Wednesday, the minister had distributed appointment letters to 4511 elementary teachers during a public function in Guwahati.
Ahead of the Assam Assembly Elections, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi, while speaking at the extended executive meeting of the Golaghat Congress unit, urged newly formed regional parties – Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) and Raijor Dal to join the grand alliance. The Congress Lok Sabha MP from Koliabor constituency requested president Lurin Jyoti Gogoi and Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi to consider joining the grand alliance to fight the upcoming Assam Assembly polls 2021. Taking a jibe at BJP, he said the Congress do not play divisive politics like the BJP. "Congress bats for One India One Assam," he stressed.
Hatigaon police on Saturday busted a gang of interstate mobile phone thieves in Sangsari. In this connection, three of the gang members from Jharkhand have been arrested. 35 expensive smartphones were also recovered. Acting on a tip off the Hatigaon police, apprehended Matan Ansari, Tasbir Sheikh and Idul Sheikh. As per reports, the accused stole most of the phones from Beltola market and the railway station.
A 6-ft tall, 294 kg bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi was vandalized in the city of Davis in Northern California attracting outrage from Indian-Americans across US. Moreover, the Indian government has condemned the act and the embassy of India in Washington DC has reported the matter to the US Department of State. "On 28 Jan'21, Mahatma Gandhi statue at Central Park in City of Davis, California was vandalised by unknown persons. Statue was a gift by the government of India in 2016. The Govt strongly condemns this malicious and despicable act against a universally respected icon of peace and justice," the ministry of external affairs said. "Embassy of India in Washington DC has taken up the matter with the US Department of State for a thorough investigation and appropriate action. Consulate General of India in San Francisco has separately taken up the matter with City of Davis and local law enforcement authorities," it added.
Over 35 lakh beneficiaries have taken the COVID-19 vaccine in the country till now with 5,70,000 jabs conducted in the last 24 hours, the health ministry said on Saturday. Of the 35,00,027 beneficiaries, the highest number of 4,63,793 people were vaccinated in Uttar Pradesh, followed by 3,24,973 in Rajasthan, 3,07,891 in Karnataka and 2,61,320 in Maharashtra, the ministry said. The ministry said in the last 24 hours, 5,71,974 people were vaccinated across 10,809 sessions, while a total of 63,687 sessions have been conducted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the government's proposal to the protesting farmers' on the farm laws still stands. The statement was made at the all-party meeting chaired by the Prime Minister adding that Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar was just a phone call away for protesting farmers.The Prime Minister also said a resolution to the issues should be found through dialogue while asserting that everyone has to think about the nation. According to the sources, PM Narendra Modi asserted that the government's proposal to the farm laws still stands. "The government's proposal still stands. Please convey this to your supporters. The resolution should be found through dialogue. We all have to think about the nation," he said.
In a fresh development, the Union Home Ministry has notified that internet services along Delhi border covering Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri will be suspended for a period of 48 hours from 11 pm onwards, keeping in view the farmers' agitation against the three farm laws which got violent recently. "… it is necessary and expedient to order the temporary suspension of internet services in the areas of Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri, and their adjoining areas in the NCT of Delhi from 11 pm on January 29 to 11 pm on January 31," the ministry notification said. In Haryana, mobile internet services were suspended in 17 districts till 5pm.
On the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi's 73rd death anniversary, President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among others, paid floral tributes to the Father of the Nation at Raj Ghat in Delhi. President Kovind, while paying his tributes, asserted that people should adhere to Gandhi's ideals of peace, non-violence, simplicity, purity of means, and humility. "On behalf of a grateful nation, my humble tributes to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi who embraced martyrdom this day. We should adhere to his ideals of peace, non-violence, simplicity, purity of means and humility. Let us resolve to follow his path of truth and love," he tweeted.
Blow after blow for Mamata Banerjee ahead of Bengal polls as five former Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders were flown in to New Delhi on Saturday to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah where they officially joined the BJP. Shah was scheduled to spend the weekend in Kolkata and participate in a rally at Howrah where the five ex TMC leaders were supposed to join his party. He however canceled his visit and drew up an alternative plan. The cavalry includes Trinamool MLA from Bali, Baishali Dalmiya, Uttarpara MLA Prabir Ghoshal, Howrah mayor Rathin Chakraborty, former MLA and five-term civic chief of Ranaghat Partha Sarathi Chatterjee and former Forest Minister Rajib Banerjee.
Police investigations reveal that Iranian hand is responsible for the the small IED explosion that took place outside the Israeli embassy in New Delhi on Friday, just a day after Republic Day. As per reports, a letter was recovered from the blast site which refers to Iran's General Qasem Soleimani and Iran's top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh as martyrs. They were both killed last year. The letter also termed the explosion as a "trailer". General Qasem Soleimani, who was seen as Iran's most effective military commander, died near Baghdad International Airport in an airstrike ordered by then US President Donald Trump last year in January.Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Iran's top nuclear physicist, was assassinated on 27 November 2020. He was killed in Tehran using a satellite-controlled machine gun. Iran blamed Israel for the attacks on its top officials.
