Three held over kidney racket in Assam
The Hindu
They targeted villagers who were struggling financially due to the pandemic.
The police in central Assam’s Morigaon district have arrested three people, including a mother and son duo, for allegedly preying on villagers to run a kidney trade racket. In Dakhin Dharamtul village, about 85 km east of Guwahati, all the victims have either been grappling with COVID-19 restrictions-induced poverty or were desperate to repay microfinance loans that had forced them to sell off most assets. “We have arrested a woman named Lillimai Boro, her son Mintu Boro and their local contact identified as Ramen Medhi. Investigations are on to catch others involved in the racket,” Morigaon’s Superintendent of Police Aparna Natarajan told The Hindu on July 13.The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.