Four arrested for pre-Christmas vandalism in Assam school
Guwahati (PTI): Four people associated with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal were arrested for vandalising decorative items used for Christmas celebrations at a school and damaging festive articles in shops in Assam’s Nalbari district, police said.
The arrests were made on Thursday, a senior officer said.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma hailed the police personnel for their prompt action and asserted that his government was committed to "maintaining peace, communal harmony, and ensuring the safety of all institutions and citizens across the state".
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The incident took place on Wednesday when the accused allegedly entered St Mary’s School in Panigaon village under the Belsor police station limits and burnt and damaged decorative items meant for Christmas celebrations.
"Miscreants who vandalised the school have been arrested. They entered the premises unlawfully," the officer said.
He added that the accused vandalised outer decorations, lights, plant pots, and other articles, as well as set some items on fire, resulting in loss of property.
"In connection with the vandalism at St. Mary’s English School, Panigaon, under Belsor Police Station, Nalbari district, the miscreants involved have been arrested. Assam Police acted promptly, and further action will be taken strictly as per law. We are fully committed to maintaining peace, communal harmony, and ensuring the safety of all institutions and citizens across the state," the CM said on X.
"A case has been registered at Belsor police station. Further investigation is going on. We are trying to identify some more people who were involved," the officer said.
The arrested persons are VHP Nalbari district secretary Bhaskar Deka, parishad's district vice-president Manash Jyoti Patgiri and assistant secretary Biju Dutta, along with Bajrang Dal's district convenor Nayan Talukdar, he added.
They had raised 'Jai Shree Ram' slogans and warned the school authorities not to organise Christmas celebrations on the school premises on Thursday, the officer said.
The accused also went to various shops selling Christmas goods in Nalbari town and set fire to some items near the Jain Mandir.
They also entered several shopping malls and business establishments selling Christmas items and burnt the goods, he added.
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Bihar CM Nitish Kumar takes oath as Rajya Sabha member
New Delhi (PTI): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday took oath as a member of Rajya Sabha, marking the end of his two-decade rule in the eastern state and paving the way for a new chief minister.
The oath was administered by Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan in his chamber at a brief ceremony. The Chairman later welcomed him as a member of the Upper House and also on his return in Parliament.
Kumar took the oath in Hindi in the presence of Union Minister J P Nadda, who is also leader of the house, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Panchayati Raj Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ram Nath Thakur and Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal.
Bihar deputy chief minister Samrat Chaudhary was also present at the oath-taking.
JDU leader and party's working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, Congress chief whip in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh, besides BJP MP and former union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy and BJP chief whip in Lok Sabha Sanjay Jaiswal, were among those present during the oath-taking.
"Vice President of India and Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan, administered the oath to Shri Nitish Kumar as an elected Member of Rajya Sabha, from Bihar, at Parliament House today," the Vice President's office said on X, while sharing pictures of the oath-taking.
After the oath-taking, Kumar came out of the new Parliament building and spoke about the time he was a member of the Lok Sabha and sat in the old Parliament building.
As Kumar assumes the Rajya Sabha role, it marks the end of his long two-decade rule in Bihar. Kumar will soon resign as chief minister and the NDA is likely to elect a new chief minister of Bihar on April 14.
He has already resigned as a member of the State Legislative Council on March 30 after he was elected to Rajya Sabha.
The JD(U) supremo was elected to the Upper House of Parliament on March 16, and he had to quit as an MLC in the 14-day period after his election.
