Gadgets for scribes land Assam govt in controversy
Guwahati: The Information and Public Relations (I&PR) department of the BJP government in Assam has stoked a controversy over electronic gadgets distributed among journalists. The department which is headed by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has distributed 200 Samsung Galaxy tablets among scribes between 2018-19 and in 2019-20 but a query under the Right to Information (RTI) Act revealed that the government neither has a policy nor set criteria for distribution of the devices. The reply to the RTI query filed by a senior journalist of Assam, Rajib Kumar stated that the government has ‘no information’ under which policy the tablets were distributed to the scribes neither has it any information on who prepared the list of 200 journalists who availed the gadgets. “Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal often harps on the BJP’s pet slogan: ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’. But the hollowness of this claim of inclusivity is glaring even in the state’s Information and Public Relations Department. It discriminates between journalists on the basis of their reportage and this had been evident in the recent distribution of Samsung Galaxy tablets,” Kumar said in a social media post on Friday. Kumar also uploaded the replies provided to him by I & PR department in this regard in the social media post. (IANS)
Court quashes Manipur Public Service main examinations
Imphal: Manipur High Court has ordered quashing of Manipur Public Service Commission main examination 2016 and ordered the CBI to probe into the conduct of the examination. Justice Lanusungkum Jamir and Justice Kh Nobin issuing the order on Friday stated that the Main Examination, 2016 initiated and conducted by the MPSC is quashed and set aside and further. However, it is open to the MPSC to conduct the Main Examination, 2016 afresh after due notice being given to the candidates. The order further said, “The Central Bureau of Investigation, New Delhi is directed to investigate into the conduct of the Main Examination, 2016 by the MPSC within a period of three months from the date of receipt of a copy of this judgment and order and take appropriate action thereafter in accordance with law.” The MPSC had conducted the examination for filling up 82 posts of different categories of service to be conducted under the provisions of the Manipur Civil Services Combined Competitive Examination Rules, 2010 . During the course of hearing it was found that “In many answer scripts, there is no signature of the examiner in the space provided for in the front page where the examiner is required to put his/her signature mandatorily. (UNI)
19 houses gutted in Arunachal
Itanagar: At least 19 houses were reduced to ashes when a fire broke out at a village in Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh on Friday morning, police said. No casualty was reported. The blaze originated from a house in Millang village at around 8.20 AM when its owner was drying millet near a fireplace. Properties worth over Rs one crore were damaged as fire tenders from district headquarter Yingkiong could not reach the spot on time due to narrow and bad road of the village, Superintendent of Police Neelam Nega said. Upper Siang DC Tapir Pada has paid Rs 5,000 each to all the 19 families as immediate relief and directed the officials concerned to ascertain the extent of damage. (PTI)
Bank manager held for fraud
Barpeta: A former branch manager of a nationalised bank in Assam’s Barpeta district was arrested for allegedly collecting money from customers with the promise to provide them bank loans, police said on Friday. Former branch manager of UCO bank’s Barpeta branch, Alok Kumar was arrested on Thursday evening by a police team led by Kayakuchi police outpost officer-in-charge (OC) Utpal Bora. The matter came to light when on October 10 police arrested one Abdul Kader of Naligoon in Kayakuchi of the district on the basis of an FIR lodged against him. Kader during interrogation claimed that he along with Kumar in the name of granting loans collected huge amount from the bank customers across the district, police said. Kader alleged Kumar used to lure customers saying that special loan schemes were available to them and also approached farmers with special benefits under the Kisan Credit Card scheme. Kader also confessed that he along with Kumar in the name of agricultural loans collected huge amount of money from people, the police said. The customers did not get the loan amount but instead received loan recovery notices, police said. Kumar allegedly used to forge the signature of the customers in the loan applications form, police said. (PTI)