Blog - The Purbottar

27 Apr

Pawan Khera Moves Supreme Court After Gauhati HC Denies Anticipatory Bail

riya EditorAssam

Congress leader Pawan Khera has approached the Supreme Court against Gauhati High Court's rejection of his anticipatory bail plea in connection with an FIR filed by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, over his allegations related to her holding multiple passports and properties abroad. The SC, however, is yet to assign his bail petition to a bench for hearing and therefore the matter is not yet listed. Vide the impugned order, the Gauhati High Court had denied Khera anticipatory bail, observing that he dragged an "innocent lady" into the controversy to gain political mileage. Prior to that, the Telangana…

26 Apr

Two Abducted Men Freed, Five Held in Overnight Assam Police Crackdown

riya EditorAssam

A late-night, coordinated operation by Assam Police resulted in the rescue of two abducted men and the arrest of five suspects in a ransom kidnapping case in the Boko–Chaygaon subdivision. According to police sources, the operation was launched after Noonmati Police Station received information around 11:30 pm about the abduction of a 24-year-old Md. Sanidul Ali. He was allegedly taken toward the Sontoli area by unidentified individuals, who later demanded a ransom of ₹10 lakh and threatened to kill him if the demand was not met. Acting swiftly, police teams from Sontoli, Topamari, Mandira, and Chamariya stations were mobilised under…

26 Apr

Guwahati Road Mishap Claims Life After Car Hits Stationary Truck

riya EditorAssam

Three women, all in their twenties, were killed when the car they were travelling in hit a stationary truck before crashing into a road divider in the Mathgharia area of Guwahati in the wee hours of Sunday. A police official said all three victims died on the spot, while the drivers of the car and the truck were absconding. According to the official, the car was registered to a person in Dhemaji, who had given it on rent to a travel agency. "We are looking for the driver," he said. The bodies of the deceased have been shifted to the…

26 Apr

Heavy Rain Alert: Assam Chief Secretary Holds Preparedness Meeting

riya EditorAssam

In view of the forecast of heavy rainfall on April 26 and 27, Assam Chief Secretary Dr Ravi Kota chaired a comprehensive review meeting with senior officials to assess preparedness measures across departments for flood management, drainage, and public safety in Guwahati. The meeting focused on the progress of desilting operations of major drains, deployment and operational readiness of pumping systems, and precautionary measures related to guard wall construction along the Bharalu River and other key drainage channels intersecting the National Highway. Special emphasis was placed on areas that were inundated during previous spells of rain. Officials reviewed actions taken…

26 Apr

HPCL expands low-cost LPG access with rising demand for 5 Kg, 2 Kg cylinders

Business BureauBusiness

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited has reported a sharp rise in demand for its smaller Free Trade LPG (FTL) cylinders, as the company expands affordable clean energy access across urban, semi-urban and strategic defence communities in India. The company said it supplied more than 6.48 lakh 5 Kg LPG cylinders and over 25,000 2 Kg cylinders between April 1 and April 24, 2026. HPCL said the smaller cylinders are designed to reduce upfront costs for consumers such as migrant workers, daily wage earners, roadside vendors and low-income households. According to the company, the smaller LPG formats are also helping improve access…

25 Apr

SEBI Chief Highlights Digital Evolution: How AI and Instant Settlement are Redefining India’s Financial Markets

anuprova EditorBusiness

The Chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has underscored a fundamental shift in the nation’s capital markets, declaring that technology is no longer just a tool but the primary architect of modern trading, distribution, and financial advice. Speaking at a major industry summit on Saturday, the market regulator emphasized that the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning has revolutionized risk management and market surveillance, allowing for the detection of manipulative patterns in real-time. This technological leap is most evident in the successful implementation of the T+0 and instantaneous settlement cycles, which have significantly enhanced…

25 Apr

Missing Guwahati Woman Located Safe in Shillong

Paromita EditorGuwahati

A 27-year-old woman, who went missing from Guwahati on Friday, was recovered by Meghalaya police from the Polo area in Shillong on Saturday morning.Bhabana Sarma, who worked as a teacher at Miles Bronson Residential School at Azara in Guwahati until the end of March, was reported missing under circumstances that are yet to be fully ascertained."Based on specific inputs, she was located in the Polo area and immediately taken for medical examination," a Meghalaya Police officialA police officer in Guwahati said a team of Assam police and her parents have gone to Shillong to bring her back. He said that…

25 Apr

Eastern India Achieves Milestone with First Office-Based Remote Robotic Surgery

Paromita EditorAssam

In a landmark achievement for medical science and technological innovation, Swagat Endolaparoscopic Surgical Research Institute, in collaboration with Swagat Superspeciality Surgical Hospital, has successfully conducted what is believed to be East India’s first “office telerobotic surgery,” marking a major breakthrough for eastern India. It is to be shared that Swagat Super Speciality Hospital was the first in Eastern India to do two remote tele surgeries on the 10th of Sept 2025 between Gurgaon to Guwahati covering a distance of 1950 kms where in two Robotic cholecystetomies were performed remotely from Gurgaon. The present pioneering procedure was performed between the two…

25 Apr

Skill push for border villages gains pace under vibrant villages programme

Business BureauBusiness

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has intensified efforts to transform India’s border villages through skill-led initiatives under the Vibrant Villages Programme, convening a high-level capacity building and review workshop at Kaushal Bhawan. The workshop, themed “Viksit Gaon for Viksit Bharat,” brought together stakeholders from the Ministry of Home Affairs, ministries of Textiles, Tourism and Rural Development, along with state missions and district administrations from Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Sikkim and Uttarakhand. The programme aims to develop 662 border villages into self-reliant “first villages” of the country. MSDE has sanctioned 74 skill development proposals so far, focusing…

25 Apr

Vi adds subscribers for second straight month, signals stability in user base

Business BureauBusiness

Vodafone Idea reported net subscriber additions for the second consecutive month, according to the latest telecom subscription data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, indicating early signs of stabilisation in the telecom operator’s subscriber base. As per the TRAI report for March 2026, Vi added 1,02,899 subscribers after recording net additions of 21,927 subscribers in February 2026. The company also added 1,92,211 rural subscribers during March, reflecting growth in rural markets. The telecom operator recorded subscriber additions across 15 telecom circles in March, including Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkata, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Odisha,…