Assam violence: Death toll rises to 41; nearly 2 lakh displaced, many flee to neighbouring Bengal

July 26, 2012

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Guwahati, July 26: Assam is on an edge. There have been fresh clashes and cases of arson and more people have died in ethnic violence. Shoot-at-sight orders are in place in four districts. The exodus of people from villages affected by the clashes continues; they are taking shelter at about 120 relief camps set up by the government.

Here are the latest developments:

1. Six more people have died today in clashes between minority Bangladeshi immigrants and Bodos in four districts of lower Assam; 41 people have died in the ethnic strife since Friday, July 20.

2. Entire villages have emptied out after houses were burnt down. Buses, cars and schools were set afire too. In the last four days since clashes began, nearly 2 lakh people have had to flee their homes. Over 10,000 people have reportedly escaped into neighbouring West Bengal.

3. The Army today mobilised about 1000 troops to enforce peace in the areas. "The troops are also carrying out flag marches in these areas," officials said.

4. There has been curfew in the four districts since the weekend. Curfew was relaxed for few hours in Kokrajhar today, but has been reimposed indefinitely. Curfew has also been extended indefinitely in Chirang and Dhubri districts where night curfew had been in place so far.

5. Trains have been targeted and the entire North-East was cut off by rail for two days. Eight Assam-bound trains that were stuck in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district since yesterday are finally on their way to Dibrugarh as services resumed in the Alipuduar-Kokrajhar section. Special trains will run tomorrow to help stranded passengers; overnight trains will resume from tonight. The Army is helping to ensure that the tracks are clear. Union Home Secretary RK Singh said that 2,000 Central security personnel have been deputed to guard Guwahati-bound trains and railway tracks.

6. The Railways estimate that more than 30,000 train passengers were stranded in different places since Monday. Many of them have made alternative arrangements, some buying expensive air tickets. More than 10,000 passengers are, however, still stranded at stations, grateful for any food they can come by.

7. In Guwahati, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi held a meeting of government officials, including the chief secretary, to monitor the situation. Assam's police chief, J N Choudhury, visited the violence-hit districts and met top security officers.

8. Union Home Secretary RK Singh, meanwhile, directed the state government to book the ring leaders involved in the violence. "No one involved in the violence will be spared," Mr Singh said in New Delhi today.

9. The situation had been tense since early July when two migrants were killed. Two more were killed on July 19, but police failed to identify the killers. On Friday last (July 20) four former Bodo Liberation Tigers men were killed. The Bodos retaliated by attacking migrants.

10. The BJP today alleged that illegal immigration from Bangladesh was responsible for ethnic and communal discord and asked the government to seal the border with the neighbouring country.


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News Network
March 16,2020

New Delhi, Mar 16: Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani has been summoned by the ED in connection with its money laundering probe against Yes Bank promoter Rana Kapoor and others, officials said on Monday.

They said Ambani was asked to depose at the Enforcement Directorate office in Mumbai on Monday as his group companies are among the big entities whose loans went bad after borrowing from the crisis-hit bank.

The officials said Ambani, 60, has sought exemption from appearance on some personal grounds and he may be issued a new date.

Ambani's group companies are stated to have taken loans of about Rs 12,800 crore from the bank that turned NPAs.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said in a March 6 press conference that the Anil Ambani Group, Essel, ILFS, DHFL and Vodafone were among the stressed corporates Yes Bank had exposure to.

Officials said promoters of all the big companies who had taken large loans from the beleaguered bank which later turned bad are being summoned for questioning in the case to take investigation forward.

Ambani's statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) upon deposition, they said.

Kapoor, 62, is at present in ED custody after he was arrested by the central probe agency early this month.

The ED has accused Kapoor, his family members and others of laundering "proceeds of crime" worth Rs 4,300 crore by receiving alleged kickbacks in lieu of extending big loans through their bank that later turned NPA.

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News Network
April 16,2020

Kochi, Apr 16: A middle-aged man carrying his ailing father on his shoulders walked close to one-kilometre in Kerala’s Punalur when the autorickshaw he was driving was allegedly stopped by the police over the ongoing lockdown. He was bringing back his father from the hospital after he was discharged on Wednesday.

In a video that has gone viral on social media, the man can be seen carrying his bare-bodied father on the shoulders and struggling to handle the weight while a woman carrying the hospital documents, prescriptions and other items, is running along with him.

The incident took place in Punalur town of Kollam district.

The 65-year-old man, a native of Kulathupuzha, was released from the Punalur Taluk Hospital and his son was taking him home when he was stopped on the road. The man has alleged that even after he produced hospital documents, the police refused to let him pass with the autorickshaw.

The vehicle was stopped about a kilometre from their house in the middle of a traffic jam and the family had to walk the rest of the path. He said even after he told the police and showed papers from hospital he was not allowed to go.

After the video went viral in Kerala, the state human rights commission took suo motu cognizance of the incident.

The nationwide lockdown has prevented all non-essential movement in the public space while medical emergencies have been allowed. The extended lockdown will now continue till May 3.

According to the police, the vehicle did not have the patient when it was stopped. The driver was asked to show a declaration document.

He stepped out of the vehicle and walked to the hospital which was 200 metres from the checkpoint and returned carrying his father on the back, said the police.

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News Network
March 5,2020

Mar 5: The fourteen Italians, who have tested positive for coronavirus, have been shifted to the Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon from an ITBP quarantine centre.

The hospital issued a statement on Thursday morning, saying these patients are housed on a completely separate floor, which has been quarantined and has no contact with the rest of the hospital.

There is a dedicated medical team wearing protective gear looking after these patients.All items used on the floor are isolated to that floor.

The isolated floor will completely contain the disease even with these asymptomatic persons. All other hospital operations are operating as normal, and there is no increased risk to patients, visitors or staff, the statement said.

Twenty-one Italian tourists and their three Indian tour operators were shifted out from an ITBP quarantine centre here on Wednesday as they were exposed to novel coronavirus.

An affected Italian couple is being treated at Jaipur's SMS medical college.

Officials on Tuesday said the foreigners have been sent to a private hospital in Gurgaon and a centre in the national capital while the Indians have been transferred to the Safdarjung Hospital.

Fourteen Italians and an Indian (driver), who were in the same group as the affected Italian couple, tested positive for the virus as per information provided by the Health Ministry.

The Italian tourists and three Indians were admitted to the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) force centre in Chhawla on Tuesday.

The Centre already has 112 people, 76 Indians and 36 foreigners, since February 27 after they were evacuated by an Indian Air Force (IAF) plane from China's Wuhan, the epicentre of the deadly coronavirus.

The first samples of these 112 people had tested negative when reports came in last week.

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