GUWAHATI: The Assam government will withdraw one lakh minor cases, mostly those registered in connection with offensive social media posts, to reduce the burden on the judiciary.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma made the announcement on Monday while delivering his Independence Day speech. “The government has decided to formally withdraw one lakh cases, mostly pertaining to Facebook and Twitter posts, which were registered and pending in the court till the midnight of August 14, 2022 so that the judiciary can concentrate more on the other serious cases,” he said.
The government will file a petition requesting the judiciary for the withdrawal of the cases. Sarma appealed to the Paresh Baruah faction of insurgent group United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) to shun the path of violence and settle issues through dialogues. He said Assam does not support terrorism.
“Assam has remained an integral part of India from the times of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. I believe the last three days was a big lesson for those who envisage a sovereign Assam. The people in Assam proved the Indian sovereignty is non-negotiable for them,” the CM said in his message to ULFA, alluding to the large-scale participation of the people in the Independence Day celebration.
Sarma also announced 10,000 government jobs by next month. “We are moving forward with a firm resolve to give 1 lakh jobs in a transparent manner. We have already given 30,000 jobs. For another 30,000 jobs, the written and oral tests will begin this month,” he said.
2 Assam Rifles jawans injured in encounter with militants
Two Assam Rifles personnel were injured during an encounter with the NSCN (K-YA) militants in Nagaland’s Mon district. Later, they were evacuated to the Air Force Hospital in Assam’s Jorhat.
Defence sources said the militants also suffered “severe casualties”. The incident occurred near the Nagaland-Arunachal Pradesh border in Mon district in the wee hours of Monday.
“The personnel noticed suspicious movement of the militants. On being challenged, the militants opened fire which was appropriately retaliated, causing severe casualties to the group of the militants,” a defence statement said. Several militant outfits of the Northeast, including ULFA and NSCN (K-YA), had jointly called for the boycott of the Independence Day celebration.