Assam Police Accused of Obstructing Essential Commodities meant for Arunachal amid Lockdown

Kimin, March 28, 2020:

The Assam Police department officials posted in Lakhimpur district have been accused of obstructing the essential commodities meant for the people from entering Arunachal Pradesh amid lockdown.

The Assam Police personnel of Lakhimpur district allegedly stopped the Pubic Distribution System (PDS) commodities meant for the people of the Assam-Arunachal border town, Kimin in the Papum Pare district in Arunachal Pradesh.

"They have stopped the PDS commodities meant for people at Kimin and Kakoi and demanding bribe for letting it go. They are putting all kinds of excuse to stop it. What more to expect from such a disgraceful government officials who are detailed for public welfare but instead creating nuisance and bottleneck in the public welfare service," wrote Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Kimin, Likha Teji, in his complaint letter addressed to the Deputy Commissioner of Lakhimpur.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus: Israel-Returned Baksa Youth brought to Guwahati for Testing

He also intimated the DC of the continued requests made by the Food and Civil Supply Inspector of Kimin, Police from Arunachal, the Assam Police department personnel, a constable and an officer "did not allow the vehicle to enter. Instead, they were challenging that they were not afraid of authority even if complaint is made against them. They themselves gave their names to the Inspector, Food and Civil Supply for complaint."

The Kimin ADC has demanded the Assam authorities to intervene and award strictest punishment  to the "erring officials."

The Kimin ADC also said that the PDS vehicles, bearing Registration No. AS07B4797 and Applied For, still remained halted at the spot.

It may be mentioned here that India is in lockdown for a period of 21 days following the outbreak of coronavirus, during which, minimum public movement has been directed and barring the essential services, every other operation is shut.

ALSO READ: National People's Party Calls for End to Harassment & Assault in the Name of Lockdown

Reports of Police beating up public for coming out in the open amid lockdown have been doing the rounds. In Assam's Bongaigaon area, on Saturday morning, a clash was reported between the two parties, where some teenage boys pelted stones at the Police and they, in turn, resorted to blank firing.

The total number of coronavirus or (COVID-19) cases in India has now risen to 902, with 21 deaths being recorded as per the latest data from the Health Ministry and State Governments.

Internationally, 27,370 deaths have been reported till date due to the coronavirus, with a large chunk of those being reported from Italy (9,134). In all, 597,458 people have been infected by the virus till now, with 133,373 having recovered. Somewhat gravely, 23,559 are said to be in a “serious” condition.

It is worthwhile to mention here that the US has now overtaken China with 1,04,256 reports of the virus reported in the country. Italy is second with 86,498 cases, while China has 81,394 cases. Notably, Italy has recorded the most number of deaths at 9,134. It is expected that the US, which has seen 1,704 deaths so far, will continue to see an uptick in the number of corona cases as the world medical community struggles to find a solution to the coronavirus that is spreading at an unprecedented rate.

Support Inside Northeast (InsideNE), an independent media platform that focuses on Citizen-centric stories from Northeast India that are surprising, inspiring, cinematic and emotionally relevant.