Guwahati, July 29 (IANS) A special court here on Monday sentenced former Assam Public Service Commission Chairman Rakesh Paul to a 14-year jail term in the APSC cash-for-job scam.

Also slapping a Rs 2 lakh fine on Paul, the court sentenced former APSC members Basanta Kumar Doley and Samedur Rahman to 10 years in jail.

The 29 candidates who paid money to get Agricultural Development Officer (ADO) jobs in 2014 have been sentenced to four years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000.

The court, on July 22, after completion of the hearing of the case, convicted 32 people, including the APSC’s former Chairman Paul, two of its former members, and 29 candidates but had not pronounced the quantum of the sentence of the convicted persons.

Special Judge Dipankar Thakuria on July 22, acquitted 11 others in connection with the case filed with the Bhangagarh police station in 2017 for lack of evidence, while one person turned approver.

Meanwhile, Paul, along with the other members and officials of the APSC, were arrested for a separate cash-for-jobs case related to the Combined Competitive Examinations (CCE) for the recruitment of civil, police and other service officials. Paul was arrested by Dibrugarh police in November 2016 and released on bail in March 2023.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 29 (IANS) Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s speech during the Budget discussions in the Lok Sabha on Monday has drawn strong criticism from the BJP and social media users, with some labeling his remarks as ‘divisive’ and ‘anarchic’.

BJP’s Mumbai Pradesh vice-president Hitesh Jain shared his reactions on X, stating, “Today, Rahul Gandhi’s speech in Parliament was nothing short of a divisive, anarchic rant. His rhetoric was filled with cheap thrills aimed at burning down the country’s unity. Mocking wealth creators and institutions shows his utter disregard for the nation’s progress.”

He added, “Youth, middle class, and all the communities must unite and take action against his divisive agenda.”

Another netizen termed Rahul Gandhi’s speech “something that could divide the society on caste lines”.

A social media user even went so far as to claim that Rahul Gandhi is steering the country towards civil war, alleging that he has already identified his targets.

The BJP was particularly enraged by Rahul Gandhi’s use of the metaphor of ‘Chakravyuh’ — a complex military formation from the Mahabharata — to criticise the government’s policies.

Rahul Gandhi specifically identified three elements for his ‘Chakravyuh’ reference — monopoly capital, government institutions, and political executive.

Reacting to this, BJP leader Jain said, “Speaking about Chakravyuh, India is breaking free from the Chakravyuh of incompetence, corruption, and divisive agendas created by Rahul Gandhi and his forefathers. His speech, devoid of facts and filled with abuse, belongs in the flames of irrelevance.”

“Rahul Gandhi’s speech today was a disgrace. His ramblings were merely an attempt to grab power and divide our great nation. Instead of presenting solutions, he chose to insult and mock, showing his true intentions,” he wrote on X.

He added, “Rahul Gandhi, a product of the very institutions he mocks, seeks only to divide the society for his own gain. His speech lacked credible data, hard facts, and honest intent. This is not statesmanship; it’s a desperate bid for power at any cost.”

–IANS

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Pune, July 29 (IANS) In a shocking incident, a 15-year-old schoolboy in Pimpri-Chinchwad jumped off his 14th floor home ostensibly to complete a task in the notorious Blue Whale online game, the police said here on Monday.

The boy, living in the posh Runwal Gate Society, was identified as Arya Shreerao, studying in a reputed school nearby. The incident has shaken parents and youngsters alike in the twin city.

According to an official of Ravet Police Station, the incident occurred on the night of July 25-26 and an accidental death report has been registered, while further investigations are underway.

Described as a shy but intelligent student studying in Class 10, the boy’s father works abroad while the mother learnt of Arya’s death in their housing society WhatsApp group later that morning.

Police said that the boy had even sketched his intentions on a sheet of paper – to complete the game by ending his life – after remaining locked in his room for several hours that night, even as the mother was in the next room.

He became addicted to the game around six months ago, and at times he would lock himself in his room for two-three days completing the so-called tasks demanded from the gamesters.

At that time, another unidentified boy was reportedly playing the game with him and is suspected to have made the demand to complete the final demand on Arya, which the police are now probing.

Incidentally, there have been vociferous protests at the easy availability of ‘killer games’ Blue Whale to youngsters with online campaigns seeking to block/ban them as they have caused the deaths of several people in India in the past few years.

–IANS

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Bhubaneswar, July 30 (IANS) Vigilance officials in Odisha on Monday unearthed properties worth crores of rupees reportedly possessed by a senior official of the Excise Department, and family members, during simultaneous raids at different places linked to the individual.

“On the allegation of possession of assets disproportionate to the known sources of income, simultaneous house searches were launched on the properties of Rama Chandra Mishra, Joint Commissioner of Excise, Bhubaneswar, on Monday at 10 places in Bhubaneswar, Subarnapur, Balangir, Bargarh etc.,” said a senior Vigilance department official.

The places where searches were carried out include his native house at Tarbha in Subarnapur district, the office room at IPICOL House at Rupali Square and rental accommodation in Khandagiri area of Bhubaneswar etc.

“Ten teams of Odisha Vigilance comprising 10 DSPs, 15 Inspectors and other supporting staff are conducting the search on the strength of Search Warrants issued by the Court of Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhubaneswar,” added the official.

The sleuths have so far unearthed six multi-storey buildings including two in Bhubaneswar, two flats in Bhubaneswar and Bargarh, one non-operational Rice Mill at Tarbha in Subarnapur, one farmhouse, 52 plots including two in Sambalpur, three in Balangir, 47 in Subarnapur districts, deposits in bank worth Rs 22 lakh, gold ornaments weighing around 230 gm and silver about 317 gm, cash, three 2-wheelers and household articles worth over Rs 11.25 lakh.

–IANS

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Bhubaneswar, July 29 (IANS) Leader of Opposition and former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday alleged that the first budget of the BJP government presented in the Assembly recently is a repetition of almost 80 per cent of the schemes introduced by his government.

While participating in the Budget discussions, Patnaik further asserted that the state government has allocated more than 80 per cent of the funds in the budget for the schemes introduced by the previous BJD government.

“This budget saw 80 per cent of our schemes being repeated. It shows the robustness, pro-people and progressive character of the schemes designed and implemented by the BJD government. The rest 20 per cent resource allocation is what they will use to implement their manifesto promises to the people of Odisha,” said Patnaik.

The BJD supremo said that the Budget for 2024-25 is a ‘Name Changer’ not a ‘Game Changer’ as claimed by the BJP government.

He accused Chief Minister Mohan Majhi of changing the names of 45 schemes of the previous BJD government.

He stated that BJP in its manifesto had promised to provide Rs 50,000 to every woman in the state under the Subhadra scheme.

“More than 2 crore women are there in Odisha. Further, this was promised to be given in two years. You will need Rs 1 lakh crore to fulfill this promise. You have kept only Rs 10,000 crore in this Budget. This will cover less than 10 per cent women of Odisha. What about the rest 1 crore 80 women?” Patnaik wondered.

“The BJP promised to increase pension to Rs 3,500 hundred per month. There are about 50 lakh pensioners in the state, out of which hardly 1 lakh pensioners will benefit as per the budget allocation,” he added.

The LoP alleged that the budgetary allocation earmarked for the social security pensions for the elderly, physically disabled and distressed persons is insufficient.

He criticised the government for paltry allocation to fulfil one of its major poll promises, Rs 3,100 per quintal MSP for farmers.

“The BJP promised Rs 3,100 per quintal MSP for farmers. The allocation kept in the Budget will not be adequate to cover even 30 per cent farmers. How do you plan to cover the remaining lakhs of farmers of Odisha?” Patnaik questioned.

He alleged that BJP cheated the people as the government will fail to provide 300 units of free ‘bijli’ (electricity) to all in the next five years which the BJP leaders had promised during the election campaigns. He also targeted the state government over the ‘paltry amount’ allocated for ‘Lakhpati Didi’ scheme and for the industrial corridor connecting Rourkela Sambalpur Paradip and Dhamra by June 2027.

–IANS

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