Assam Police have arrested two individuals from the Barpeta district for their alleged connections to fundamentalist groups, following an operation by the Special Task Force (STF).
In a significant development ahead of the assembly elections, former Assam Congress president Bhupen Borah is set to join the BJP, according to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The CM recently said that only'miyas' were being 'harassed' during the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in the state, as they cannot be allowed to vote in Assam, and claimed that no Assamese -- Hindus or Muslims -- were facing any problem in the exercise. Opposition parties criticised him for this comment.
'Once demographic fear becomes campaign language, it legitimises social targeting.'
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday launched a financial assistance scheme for 'Udasin Bhakats', providing monthly support of 1,500 to celibate Vaishnavite monks associated with Satras across the state.
Eight persons have been killed in floods and landslides in Assam as incessant rainfall caused massive inundation in 17 districts, affecting over 78,000 people, officials said on Saturday.
Seven rivers, including the Brahmaputra, were flowing above the danger level, even as the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Guwahati predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places in the state.
Relief camps in Assam's Kokrajhar and Barpeta districts have 4,615 new refugees, while 376 have left for home in Chirang district since Sunday. In Kokrajhar, 4,587 people have sought refuge where 60,252 are housed in 50 camps while in Chirang, there are 31,442 refugees in 24 camps, official sources said on Monday.
Dhubri is the worst-hit district, followed by Cachar and Darrang.
This will "stop the influx of illegal foreigners" and the state government will be 'very strict" in issuing Aadhaar cards, he said.
Assam's flood situation remained critical on Tuesday with over 6.71 lakh people affected in 20 districts in the second wave of flooding this year, as the Indian Air Force (IAF) rescued 13 stranded fishermen from the severely-hit Dibrugarh district, an official said.
The flood situation in Assam remained grim on Thursday even though flood waters started have receding in many parts of the state, officials said.
Sarma also claimed that marriages of minors were registered by the Kazis earlier, but the proposed bill will prohibit any such move.
Five major rivers, including the Brahmaputra at two places, were flowing over the danger level, it said.
The Congress on Tuesday announced its second list of 43 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, fielding Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath once again from Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara and Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot from Rajasthan's Jalore.
The flood situation in Assam deteriorated drastically on Thursday with one person losing his life and nearly five lakh people reeling under the deluge across 12 districts, an official bulletin said.
The term 'love jihad' is used by right-wing groups to allege a ploy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into religious conversion through marriage.
Rahul claimed that the Assam CM has taken land in Kaziranga National Park.
The Assam police suo motu registered the FIR against Gandhi and several other leaders for "wanton acts of violence" here during the party's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' on Tuesday.
A voter turnout of 60.19 per cent was recorded till 5 pm in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections in 93 constituencies spread over 11 states and Union Territories on Tuesday with sporadic incidents of violence in West Bengal.
The Gauhati high court on Monday said the observations made by a Barpeta court in its order granting bail to Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani for allegedly assaulting a woman police officer ''crossed its limits" and "demoralised" the police force and the government of Assam.
Among the bigwigs are Union ministers Amit Shah (Gandhinagar), Jyotiraditya Scindia (Guna), Mansukh Mandaviya (Porbandar), Parshottam Rupala (Rajkot), Pralhad Joshi (Dharwad) and SP Singh Baghel (Agra).
Eight people, including madrasa teachers, were taken into custody for allegedly being associated with the same terror group, also known as Ansarul Bangla Team, in the past two days in the district.
Major rivers of the state, including the Brahmaputra, were flowing above the danger level at different places.
The stakes are significant for the BJP in this round as the party had in 2019 won an overwhelming majority of these seats, including all in Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, that will go to polls on May 7.
Gujarat legislator Jignesh Mevani was granted bail by a court in Assam's Barpeta district on Friday in a case related to the alleged assault of a woman police officer.
Assam has become a hotbed of "jihadi activities" with five modules having links with Bangladesh-based terror outfit Ansarul Islam busted in five months, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Thursday.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said two major terror modules were busted in the state in a "nationally coordinated operation".
The India Meteorological Department has issued a 'Red Alert' and predicted 'very heavy' to 'extremely heavy' rainfall across several districts of Assam till Thursday.
President Droupadi Murmu has approved 76 gallantry awards, including four Kirti Chakras posthumously and 11 Shaurya Chakras to personnel of the security forces, on the eve of the 77th Independence Day, officials said.
Many parts of Cachar district's severely affected Silchar town are still waterlogged.
In the last 24 hours, eight people have died after drowning in flood waters -- two each in Barpeta and Karimganj districts, one each in Darrang, Hailakandi, Nalbari and Sonitpur districts and eight people are still missing.
The flood situation in Assam deteriorated on Thursday with one more person losing his life and nearly 7.18 lakh people in 27 districts remaining affected by the deluge, an official bulletin said.
As the police said they have a list of 8,000 accused and the drive will continue, women protested against the move in various districts saying they will face problems without livelihoods.
The Brahmaputra and Barak rivers along with their tributaries are in spate, even as floodwaters started receding from a few areas, they said.
The total number of people killed in flooding and landslides in the state this year has gone up to 76. While 50 people were killed in inundation, 26 died due to landslides.
The flood situation in the three districts of Barak Valley -- Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi -- remained critical as the water levels of Barak and Kushiara rivers continued to rise, inundating vast tracts of land, officials said.
The madrasa located in Pakhiura Char under Matia police station and the residence adjacent to it was allegedly used for jihadi activities by two Bangladeshi nationals, who are currently absconding, the police said.
The drive met with opposition in Tinsukia in upper Assam leading to lathicharge by the security forces, while in Sonitpur the alleged illegal settlers claimed that it was launched about a week before the stipulated date.
Three persons, including the president and general secretary of the Assam Miya Parishad, have been detained for their alleged association with terror outfits, police said.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances