Guwahati Apr 23 PTI Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday asserted that India would not hesitate to act against terrorists who target the country from across the borderSpeaking at a programme where Assam-based veterans of 1971 India-Pakistan War were felicitated Singh said the government was working to wipe out terrorism from the countryIndia has been successful in giving out the message that terrorism will be strongly dealt with We will not hesitate to cross borders if the country is targeted from outside he maintainedPraising the valour displayed by Indian soldiers in the recent standoffs with China he said I am of the firm belief that no power in the world can do anything to bow down the head of Bharat Mata Mother India Taking a dig at a section of opposition leaders who had questioned the Armys role in the matter Singh said such criticism demoralised soldiers and hurt the sentiments of peopleI am regularly in contact with chiefs of our armed forces I told them what I had to and they did what they had to They have kept Bharat Matas head held high he addedSingh also said that the eastern boundary of the country was currently experiencing more peace and stability compared to the western frontier with Bangladesh being a friendly neighbourThe tension that India experiences on western frontier does not exist along eastern boundary as Bangladesh is a friendly country he notedThe problem of infiltration has almost ended There is peace and stability at the border in the eastern frontier now the minister saidThe defence minister praised the Border Road Organisation BRO for its efforts in building strong boundary infrastructure needed for defence preparednessWe have stronger border infrastructure now but more has to be done and we are working on it he statedOn the recent withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act AFSPA from different parts of northeast the defence minister stated that the government did so whenever the situation in a place improvedHe said When I was the Union home minister AFSPA was lifted from Arunachal Pradesh most parts and Meghalaya Now under Amit Shah it has been withdrawn from 23 districts of Assam and areas under 15 police stations each in Manipur and NagalandDurable peace and stability has ensured that AFSPA gets withdrawn from the northeast and the role of chief ministers in the region has also been commendable with Assams Himanta Biswa Sarma taking the leading he notedMaintaining that there was a public misconception that the Army always wanted AFSPA to remain in force Singh contended the Armys job is not to look after internal security but to guard the bordersOn continued imposition of AFSPA in Jammu and Kashmir the minister said The situation is responsible for it not the Army Lauding the role of serving soldiers and veterans in protecting the country the defence minister said The soldiers are our strength and the veterans and veer naris widows of martyrs our inspirationEven when a soldier retires and becomes a veteran the warrior inside him lives on and it can be seen in his tevar attitude body language he addedHe also called on the general people to ensure that brotherhood is maintained within the country while the soldiers keep peace on the bordersWe dont notice religion when a person dons the uniform and becomes a soldier for the countryPeople of different religions had worked together in the 1971 Warthis social harmony of Assam India should not be broken he said felicitating war widows families of martyrs prisoners of war and former personnel who had suffered injuries in the 1971 battleHe also inaugurated an exhibition by Directorate of Sainik Welfare showcasing the valour and supreme sacrifice of armed forces in the liberation warLater in a tweet Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that nine war widows were honoured with Rs 10 lakh each eight personnel who had suffered injuries with Rs 5 lakh each and two ex-prisoners of War with Rs 25 lakh eachAn amount of Rs 2 lakh each was also given to 86 other veterans of the liberation war he added PTI SSG RMS RMS

Guwahati Apr 21 PTI Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani who had been arrested from the western state by the Assam Police for a purported social media post was brought here on Thursday a police officer saidHe was flown to Guwahati from Gujarat around 11 am the officer saidMevani was then taken to Kokrajhar by road over 220 km from Guwahati as the case under which he was arrested was registered thereThe prominent Dalit leader was apprehended from Palanpur town in Gujarat on Wednesday night after a First Information Report FIR under section 153A of the Indian Penal Code which deals with offences related to promoting enmity between communities was filed at Kokrajhar police station his aide Suresh Jat saidAs per a document shared by the officials of the Assam police an FIR has been lodged over a tweet by Mevani few days back The post has been withheld by Twitter It was about Nathuram Godse Mevani was first brought to Ahmedabad by road and then taken to Assam by air early today morning he addedMevani is an independent MLA from Vadgam seat in Banaskantha He has recently pledged support to the CongressCongress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday termed Mevanis arrest undemocratic and unconstitutionalGandhi said it was an insult to the people who elected him as a public representative PTI SSG RMS RMS

Guwahati Nov 20 PTI An earthquake of 41 magnitude jolted parts of Assam including its largest city Guwahati on Saturday afternoon The quake with epicentre in Kamrup district hit the state at 112 pm according to data from the National Center for Seismology Tremors of the earthquake which occurred at a depth of 10 km were felt across Guwahati city as well as its adjoining areas No report of loss of life or damage to property has been received yet The northeastern region falls in a high seismic zone making earthquakes a frequent phenomenon in the area A 64-magnitude quake had shaken Assam and parts of northeast on April 28 causing damage to several buildings PTI SSG RMS RMS

Guwahati Oct 30 PTI Two severed legs wrapped in a polythene bag were recovered from near a dustbin in Khanapara area of Guwahati on Saturday a police officer said The legs first spotted by some local rag pickers have been sent to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital here for examination he said The toes had nail paint on them leading to the suspicion that they belonged to a woman We have alerted nearby police stations for any report on a missing person We have also informed our counterparts in neighbouring Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya he said An investigation into the case has been initiated the officer added PTI SSG RMS RMS