Cachar SP rubbishes report claiming she was "interrogated" by Crime Branch; Hints towards major arrests

Superintendent of Police Cachar, Dr. Ramandeep Kaur who was recently at the state headquarters with regards to the Betelnut Smuggling scam in Silchar held a press conference at her office in Silchar. It was widely reported that the Crime Branch has summoned SP Dr. Ramandeep Kaur to interrogate her in connection to the Burmese Betel Nut transportation scam.

Ramandeep Kaur assumed charges as the superintendent of Cachar on July 26, 2021, after the Mizo forces bamboozled Assam Police Personnel in an inter-state armed clash. Her predecessor was shot in the leg and had to be airlifted to Mumbai for further treatment. Cachar SP rubbished the reports that claimed she was interrogated by the Crime Branch. “Media is an integral part of the democracy and it is the responsibility of the press to report facts and not amplify flimsy allegations,” said the SP.

She made it clear that the Chief Minister of Assam, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma’s directive of clean Governance is being followed to the T. Giving more clarity about her trip to the state headquarters, she said, “A case against illegal transportation of Burmese Supari was registered in Guwahati and the Police made arrests. I went there to interrogate the arrested person and work on leads that we generate. We know about the ICs and OCs, even they have not been summoned per se.”

It is worth mentioning here that the ICs and OCs who assumed charges as recently as last week have been summoned. “This syndicate that transports Burmese nuts is deep-rooted and operate from across the state and other parts of the country and the world. Because Silchar is being used as the transit road, Cachar gets highlighted. The ICs and OCs are working together to find out a way as to how this racket can be uprooted.”

She added, “I want to make it clear to the general public, Cachar Police will leave no stone unturned to nab the nexus that is operating the betel nut syndicate. Here we aren’t talking about the locally grown betel nut but the ones that are smuggled from Burma. Also, if the general public has any information regarding this racket, we urge them to bring that to our notice.”

Another huge scam that is operating throughout the state, is the diversion of subsidised fertilisers procured by the Government of Assam to help the local farmers. The fertiliser that has specific standard operating procedures with regards to handling and transportation gets diverted by middlemen and eventually transported to Mizoram. “In the last few days, we have seized 8,476 sacks (45kg to 60kg each) of fertilisers and arrested eight drivers and one owner of a warehouse.”