6 new faces likely in Assam cabinet
Guwahati, April 25:Close to two years after the formation of the Assam government, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal is all set to expand his cabinet for the first time on Thursday.
Sources said that six new ministers are likely to be inducted in the cabinet including four from the BJP and one each from alliance partners, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodoland Peoples' Front (BPF).
Although BJP leaders have remained tight-lipped over the expansion, informed sources said that names of BJP legislators including Siddhartha Bhattacharyya, Sum Ronghang, Tapan Gogoi and Piyush Hazarika are doing the rounds.
"A woman legislators from the BJP is also likely to be inducted as minister," said the sources while adding that the name of Angoorlata Deka has been doing the rounds. Deka, who won from Batadraba constituency, has been one of the vocal legislators.
At present the 11-member cabinet of Sonowal includes seven Bharatiya Janata Party legislators including Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. Of the remaining, two are AGP legislators and two BPF legislators.
While the ministry in Assam can have a maximum of 19 members, the Chief Minister is unlikely to fulfil all the slots at one time.
Senior AGP leader Phani Bhushan Choudhury is likely to be inducted in the cabinet. BPF is likely to nominate either Emmanuel Moshahary or Chandan Brahma to the single slot to be given to the party.
The expansion of the cabinet pending for almost two years has prompted the opposition as well as alliance partners to often point fingers on the functioning of the departments, saying the ministers were overburdened leading to slow pace of developments.
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Woman, 2 sons found dead in Delhi home; suicide suspected
New Delhi (PTI): Three members of a family were found dead inside their home in southeast Delhi's Kalkaji on Friday, with police suspecting it to be a case of suicide, officials said.
Police said the incident came to light around 2.47 pm when a police team reached the premises to execute a court order related to possession of the property. When repeated knocks went unanswered, the staff used a duplicate key to open the door.
Inside, officers found Anuradha Kapoor (52) and her sons, Ashish Kapoor (32) and Chaitanya Kapoor (27), hanging from the ceiling, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said in a statement. All three were declared dead.
A handwritten note was recovered from the room, suggesting the family had been struggling with depression.
"The handwritten note indicates emotional distress faced by the family due to which the family may have taken the extreme step," the officer said.
The bodies have been shifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) mortuary for post-mortem and other legal formalities under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), police said.
Residents of the neighbourhood said they were shocked to learn about the deaths, adding that the family kept largely to themselves.
Pankaj Kashyap, a resident of Girinagar, said he learnt about the deaths while leaving for work. "I live and work here and was leaving for work when I saw many people standing outside and talking. That is how I got to know that three people had committed suicide. I also saw several police vehicles outside, but I do not know much beyond that," he said.
Baldev, another neighbour, said the family had been living in the newly constructed house for around two years. "We only knew that a mother and her two children lived there. They had moved into the newly built house around two years ago. We did not interact much with them. Today we heard that all three have committed suicide, and whatever we know is based on what people here are saying," he said.
Another neighbour, Ramesh Kumar, claimed the family had earlier attempted suicide.
"About fifteen to twenty days ago, the two sons in the family had attempted suicide and police and ambulances had come. That was when I first got to know who they were. I do not recognise them by face, but we saw the ambulances and police take the two sons that day. Today again we saw ambulances and police arriving, so everyone came out to see what had happened. I do not know how long they had been living here, but this is all we know," he said.
Police said they are examining the family's financial condition, social circumstances, and other factors that may have contributed to the incident. Further investigation is underway.
