EC organises cultural programmes, taps vlogger, para-cyclist to boost voter turnout in Assam
Guwahati (PTI): Special initiatives ranging from roping in a popular vlogger and a para-cyclist as campaign icons to organising street plays and rangoli competitions have been launched across Assam to encourage maximum voter participation in the assembly polls.
The initiatives are being carried out under the Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme as per the directions of the Election Commission, an official statement said.
"With the objective of enhancing voter turnout and spreading awareness about citizens' fundamental democratic rights and responsibilities, a wide range of activities are being organised across the state under the supervision of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO)," it said.
As part of the campaign, authorities are organising street plays, drawing and rangoli competitions, slogan-writing contests, digital poster-making events, wall-writing drives, news presentation competitions and workshops, among other creative awareness programmes.
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Several districts have also introduced unique mascots and enlisted popular local personalities as SVEEP icons to connect with voters more effectively.
Among the mascots introduced are 'Bakhar' in Lakhimpur, 'Ganabandhu' in Sonitpur, 'Jolou' in Jorhat, 'Chameli' in Golaghat, and 'Dwimlu' and 'Sikhiri' in Kokrajhar.
To reach out to younger voters, Jorhat district has enlisted popular Northeast vlogger Abhinav Borah, known by his social media handle 'LazyGuy', as a campaign face. In Lakhimpur, actor Rajiv Duwari has been designated as an SVEEP icon.
Rakesh Banik, regarded as the first international para-cyclist from the Northeast, will also promote voter awareness through various outreach programmes across districts, the statement said.
Expressing optimism about a higher turnout, CEO Anurag Goel appealed to all voters in the state to exercise their democratic right.
Polling for the 126-member assembly will be held on April 9, while the votes will be counted on May 4.
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3 officials of private banks arrested in Gujarat in Rs 2,500 crore cyber fraud; 20 held so far
Rajkot (PTI): Three officials of leading private banks were arrested for their alleged involvement in a Rs 2,500-crore cyber fraud racket in Gujarat's Rajkot district, bringing the number of those held so far in the case to 20, police said on Monday.
Those arrested were identified as Maulik Kamani, a personal manager at Yes Bank in Padadhari; Kalpesh Dangariya, a manager at Axis Bank in Jamnagar; and Anurag Baldha, a personal banker with HDFC Bank, Rajkot (Rural) Superintendent of Police Vijay Gurjar said.
Dangariya and Baldha were previously employed with Yes Bank, he added.
Kamani allegedly assisted the earlier arrested accused in opening and managing suspicious accounts. He also helped bypass banking alerts triggered by high-value transactions by submitting additional documentation to keep accounts active, the SP said.
Kamani was allegedly involved in cash withdrawals that were later routed through hawala channels (illegal money transfer system), supported by digital evidence recovered from his mobile device, he added.
Dangariya is accused of facilitating the opening of fraudulent accounts using fake or misrepresented identities, police said.
He also assisted in structuring documentation, including Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC)-related papers, to prevent transactions from being flagged as suspicious, they said.
On the other hand, Baldha opened new accounts after verification and certification processes as part of the racket, Gurjar informed.
All the three accused are in police custody, while others are in jail under judicial remand, SP said.
So far, police have identified 85 bank accounts linked to the racket with 535 complaints filed on the cyber crime portal.
The total transaction linked to the cyber fraud exceeds Rs 2,500 crore, police said.
The earlier fraud amount was pegged by police at Rs 1,500 crore.
