oppn parties Gangs Rule Again In Upper Assam

News Snippets

  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
oppn parties
Gangs Rule Again In Upper Assam

By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2018-11-23 09:11:56

It started with the gruesome murder of six Bengali-speaking people in Tinsukia district of Assam. Now it has escalated into a full scale operation. The Ulfa, Sulfa (the so-called 'surrendered' Ulfa) and other assorted groups are back in business. New recruitments to these banned outfits are on the rise. Mashal (torchlight) rallies and other muscle-flexing events are conducted frequently. They are spreading a reign of terror designed to make the business community loosen their purse strings through fear.

In quick succession this week, first the manager of Timonhabi Tea Estate in Sonari was kidnapped, then a businessman from Lanka was asked to pay Rs 30 lakhs or face the consequences and finally, a grenade blast was triggered in a shop at Demow in Sibsagar district of the state. There is still no news of the kidnapped manager while the person who made the threat call in Lanka has been arrested by the police as the businessman had the courage to report the incident. The blast in Demow killed a customer and the brother of the shop owner.

It seems that Assam is moving back in time. The current incidents bring back the chilling situation witnessed in the eighties and nineties when abductions, murders and ransom demands were the order of the day. It also seems that change of government has no effect on these bands of marauders whose basic aim is to collect as much money before the government crackdown.

The business community in upper Assam is confused and dismayed that the government is not taking any steps to nip the problem in the bud. They say that once these gangs smell the scent of money, it will be very difficult to contain them. Easy money attracts unemployed youth in droves and newer gangs sprout every day. These gangs adopt newer strategies to milk the largely non-Assamese business community. The police have to be proactive in taking steps against these gangs. But for this to happen, the business community needs to shed its fear and report even the smallest of incidents.