From crime list to gift list: Theft-accused man gets Assam CM’s Bihu honor

A man against whom several theft cases were registered was among the recipients of the Assam chief minister’s Ronagli Bihu gift of ‘gamosa’ (traditional scarf or towel), meant for prominent citizens.

Officials said they have no idea how the name of the theft accused, a resident of Lakhimpur district, featured on the list of recipients.

Eminent citizens of the state are presented with ‘gamosa’ by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma as a greeting on Rongali Bihu, celebrated in mid-April, marking the beginning of the Assamese new year. 

Among the recipients this year is one Sida Das of Bosagaon in the district, who has several cases registered against him since 2016.

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The photograph of the village headman presenting the ‘gamosa’, packed in a trademark pink coloured paper box, to Das surfaced on social media and was also published in local newspapers, raising questions on the selection of people for the gift from the CM.

 The Bihu gift was distributed ahead of the announcement of the panchayat election schedule on Wednesday evening, with which the model code of conduct came into force.

Official sources said that there have been four cases against Das since 2016 for crimes such as theft of television sets and batteries of inverters and vehicles.

When contacted for their response on Das being included among the recipients, district officials maintained that their role was confined to sending out the gifts as received.

“We are not aware of how this person’s name got into the list. We had only forwarded the gifts as received to the local authorities for distribution,” an official said.