The Congress on Saturday released its second list of 23 candidates for the upcoming Assam assembly elections, with the party so far naming its nominees in 65 seats in the 126-member House.. A man waves a Congress flag at a rally in Gujarat. (AP File Photo). The party also left 15 seats for its alliance partners in the northeastern state, where assembly elections are likely in April.. The Congress is leading an alliance of opposition parties, including CPI(M) and Assam Jatiya Parishad, with the CPI (ML) Liberation also lending its support on Saturday.. The Raijor Dal had been a part of the opposition alliance in previous elections, but the arrangement has not come through for the forthcoming polls. Its chief Akhil Gogoi had won the last assembly election as an Independent.. In the second list of candidates, released by Congress general secretary, Organisation, K C Venugopal, three sitting MLAs have been renominated – Wazed Ali Choudhury (Birsing Jarua), Abul Kalam Rasheed Alam (Goalpara East) and Rakibuddin Ahmed (Chamaria).. Former Lok Sabha MP Abdul Khaleque, who had also served two terms as an MLA, has been named from Mandia constituency.. Among other candidates on the list are Bipul Gogoi from Tingkhong, Kartik Chandra Kurmi from Rangapara, Santanu Borah from New Guwahati, Kishore Kumar Barua from Dimoria, Nurul Islam from Srijangram seat and Devid Phukan from Tinsukia.. The Congress has set aside the assembly constituencies of Bajali, Palasbari, Guwahati Central, Goreswar, Morigaon, Barhampur, Bindakandi, Behali, Dibrugarh and Diphu, among others, for the alliance partners.. The assembly elections will be held in Assam for the first time since the completion of delimitation of constituencies in 2023, where boundaries of seats were redrawn without changing the total number of seats.. The Congress had on March 3 released its first list of 42 candidates for the upcoming Assam assembly polls, fielding state party chief Gaurav Gogoi from the Jorhat seat.. Taking a lead in announcing the names of its candidates even before the declaration of the poll schedule, the party said Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Debabrata Saikia will contest the election from the Nazira constituency.. Former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Ripun Bora has been fielded from the Barchalla constituency.. The Congress has been out of power in the northeastern state since 2016, while the BJP-led government will be eyeing a third straight term. Currently, the ruling BJP’s strength in the 126-member assembly is 64, while its allies AGP has nine MLAs, UPPL has seven, and BPF has three members.. In the opposition camp, the Congress has 26 MLAs, AIUDF has 15 members, and CPI(M) has one MLA. There is an Independent legislator as well. 

 The Special Task Force (STF) of West Bengal Police said on Sunday that they have arrested a Bangladeshi National on charges of helping the alleged killers of Bangladeshi youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi to enter India after committing the crime.. Police said they have arrested a man who allegedly helped Osman Hadi’s killers escape to India. (PTI/Representative). A week ago, the STF had arrested two suspects wanted for the murder of Hadi from Bongaon in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district. The two were identified as Faisal Karim Masud (37) alias Rahul, a resident of Bangladesh’s Patuakhali and Alamgir Hossain (34), a Dhaka resident.. “During interrogation, Masud and Hossain named one named one person Philip Sangma who helped them to cross over to India through Meghalaya. Later, Philip himself entered India illegally. Sangma was arrested on Saturday morning from Shantipur Bypass (in Nadia district),” said an officer.. Sangma, a resident of Bangladesh, told the police during initial interrogation that he operates as a border tout and facilitates illegal migrants to cross the border through Haluaghat (Bangladesh) – Dalupara (Meghalaya) border area in lieu of money. He also admitted that he had facilitated the two accused in the Hadi murder case, Faisal and Alamgir, to enter India.. “Later he entered India to evade arrest in Bangladesh. He stayed in various places after entering India. He was in touch with Masud and Hossain and was trying to go back to Bangladesh,” said another official.. Sangma produced in the court today. The court sent him to police custody.. Hadi, 32, the spokesperson for Inqilab Moncho, was shot in the head on December 12 in Dhaka. He was flown to Singapore for treatment. His death on December 18 triggered a political unrest in Bangladesh which subsequently led to the general elections on February 12.. The Tarique Rahman-led Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) swept the polls with its allies to form government after 20 years with 216 of the 297 seats. 

 India on Saturday said it is in touch with all key stakeholders in West Asia to ensure the safe passage of Indian-flagged merchant vessels through the Strait of Hormuz to ensure the country’s energy security, even as two LPG tankers sailed through the crucial waterway and headed towards Indian ports.. A total of 22 Indian-flagged merchant vessels are still in the Persian Gulf. (REUTERS/File). A total of 22 Indian-flagged merchant vessels, including six LPG carriers, an LNG carrier, and four crude oil tankers, are in the Persian Gulf and awaiting safe passage, officials told a media briefing on the situation in West Asia. Shivalik and Nanda Devi, two carriers with 92,700 metric tonnes of LPG, transited the Strait of Hormuz early on Saturday and are expected to dock at Mundra and Kandla next week, they said.. Since the start of the Iran-US conflict on February 28, India has called for de-escalation, emphasised the need to ensure the unimpeded transit of goods and energy, and urged all sides to avoid the targeting of civilian infrastructure, including energy infrastructure, across the region, said external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.. India’s leadership reached out to all key interlocutors, including members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Iran, Israel, and the US, and underlined the country’s focus on energy security. “As a result of these multiple contacts with all concerned, some ships destined for India have been able to cross through the Strait of Hormuz,” Jaiswal said.. Separately, Iranian ambassador Mohammad Fathali said at the India Today Conclave that Tehran has allowed some Indian-flagged vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz following contacts between President Masoud Pezeshkian and Prime Minister Narendra, and foreign ministers S Jaishankar and Seyed Abbas Araghchi.. “Yes, we have allowed [the vessels] but let me not tell you how many,” Fathali said. He declined to go into details and said he would continue following this issue so that more vessels could cross the strait. “As the ambassador, I did my best, of course, there was some delay, but it happened,” he said.. Iran and India have common interests and “any rift or gap” between them can be taken advantage of by “enemies”, Fathali said. “Both sides have the maturity to handle political and social issues together and solve everything,” he added.. Rajesh Kumar Sinha, special secretary in the shipping ministry, said the Shivalik is expected to dock at Mundra port on March 16 and the Nanda Devi at Kandla port on March 17. Authorities have issued instructions for priority berthing of LPG carriers at Indian ports to maintain energy supplies, and six LPG carriers arrived at ports from different parts of the world in the past three days, he said.. “Several of our ships remain on standby in the Gulf region. We propose to continue to remain in touch and coordinate with all concerned countries to ensure a safe and unimpeded transit for 

 India on Saturday said it is in touch with all key stakeholders in West Asia to ensure the safe passage of Indian-flagged merchant vessels through the Strait of Hormuz to ensure the country’s energy security, even as two LPG tankers sailed through the crucial waterway and headed towards Indian ports.. A total of 22 Indian-flagged merchant vessels are still in the Persian Gulf. (REUTERS/File). A total of 22 Indian-flagged merchant vessels, including six LPG carriers, an LNG carrier, and four crude oil tankers, are in the Persian Gulf and awaiting safe passage, officials told a media briefing on the situation in West Asia. Shivalik and Nanda Devi, two carriers with 92,700 metric tonnes of LPG, transited the Strait of Hormuz early on Saturday and are expected to dock at Mundra and Kandla next week, they said.. Since the start of the Iran-US conflict on February 28, India has called for de-escalation, emphasised the need to ensure the unimpeded transit of goods and energy, and urged all sides to avoid the targeting of civilian infrastructure, including energy infrastructure, across the region, said external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.. India’s leadership reached out to all key interlocutors, including members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Iran, Israel, and the US, and underlined the country’s focus on energy security. “As a result of these multiple contacts with all concerned, some ships destined for India have been able to cross through the Strait of Hormuz,” Jaiswal said.. Separately, Iranian ambassador Mohammad Fathali said at the India Today Conclave that Tehran has allowed some Indian-flagged vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz following contacts between President Masoud Pezeshkian and Prime Minister Narendra, and foreign ministers S Jaishankar and Seyed Abbas Araghchi.. “Yes, we have allowed [the vessels] but let me not tell you how many,” Fathali said. He declined to go into details and said he would continue following this issue so that more vessels could cross the strait. “As the ambassador, I did my best, of course, there was some delay, but it happened,” he said.. Iran and India have common interests and “any rift or gap” between them can be taken advantage of by “enemies”, Fathali said. “Both sides have the maturity to handle political and social issues together and solve everything,” he added.. Rajesh Kumar Sinha, special secretary in the shipping ministry, said the Shivalik is expected to dock at Mundra port on March 16 and the Nanda Devi at Kandla port on March 17. Authorities have issued instructions for priority berthing of LPG carriers at Indian ports to maintain energy supplies, and six LPG carriers arrived at ports from different parts of the world in the past three days, he said.. “Several of our ships remain on standby in the Gulf region. We propose to continue to remain in touch and coordinate with all concerned countries to ensure a safe and unimpeded transit for 

 Mere registration of a first information report (FIR) cannot justify cancelling or refusing to renew an arms licence, the Orissa high court has ruled. The court said authorities must demonstrate with reasons in writing that the licence-holder poses a genuine threat to public peace and safety before invoking their powers under the Arms Act.. The high court said the grounds for the licence denial did not fall within those cited in the Arms Act. (Getty Images/iStockphoto). Justice AK Mohapatra pronounced the judgment on Friday, setting aside the additional district magistrate’s order upholding cancellation and subsequently refusal to renew the arms licence of businessman Sambit Padhy based on his alleged involvement in a criminal case.. In 2022, an FIR was lodged against Padhy over alleged illegal possession of chromite and hard coke.. Justice AK Mohapatra ruled that mere registration of an FIR is not sufficient. “The competent authority must be satisfied that the licensee was involved in or participated in the alleged offence, or that the licensed weapon was used in the commission of such offence.”. Padhy was granted licence from August 2019 to August 2022 for a 0.32-bore pistol for personal security. He applied for licence renewal in August 2022.. The high court noted there was no allegation that Padhy ever used his licensed firearm in the commission of any offence, nor was there any suggestion that he had assaulted or threatened any person. It said the grounds for the licence denial did not fall within those cited in Section 17 of the Arms Act.. “Once a licence is granted lawfully, Section 15(3) of the Arms Act confers a limited right of renewal; the burden lies on authorities to justify non-renewal in writing. The authorities could not have rejected the application for renewal of arms license because of the pendency of a criminal case, without assessing the gravity of the crime and without concluding that the petitioner is a hardened criminal and that the grant of an arms license in his favour would disturb the peace in the locality,” the high court said. It added that Padhy had not misused his firearm.. The court set aside the cancellation and appellate order. It referred the matter back to Khordha’s additional district magistrate for fresh consideration in conformity with Sections 13, 14, and 17 of the Arms Act. It directed Padhy to appear before the magistrate within two weeks for a “speaking and reasoned order” within four weeks.