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Two prison guards have been arrested in Assam’s Sribhumi district for allegedly dragging a young, homeless woman, who is mentally challenged, to the compound of their official living quarters near the district jail and gang-raping her.

The woman was allegedly dragged into the quarters at 1.30 am on Saturday and the two prison guards, also known as warders, were caught by a patrolling team.

Police said the accused, identified as Hareshwar Kalita and Gajendra Kalita, are aged between 45 and 50. They are from the Panjabari and Boragaon areas of Guwahati, respectively.

“Both men have been arrested and further investigation is on. The victim, who is mentally challenged, has been hospitalised. It is suspected that she was alone on the street and the accused took advantage of that,” an officer said.

He added that the two men will be produced in court soon.

“Once we were informed, a team rushed to the spot and the accused were taken into custody. A case has been registered,” said Pranabjyoti Kalita, additional superintendent of police, Sribhumi. 

The Assam government continued to hand over financial assistance to the kin of the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack, with state minister Bimal Borah visiting the residences of two bereaved families in Karnataka on Sunday.

The state government is providing assistance of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of all 26 victims of the April 22 attack.

Borah visited the residence of Manjunath Rao in Shivmogga, and handed a cheque to his wife Pallavi.

In a post on X, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “As the family of Manjunath ji comes to terms with the irreparable loss, we express our collective solidarity to the family in these tough times. My colleague Shri @BimalBorah119 has extended a token of support from the people of Assam to the family to help them in this hour.” Borah said the Assam government stands resolute with all the victims of the dastardly attack during these trying times.

The minister also visited the residence of Bharat Bhusan in Bengaluru and handed over a cheque to his family.

Cabinet ministers of Assam have been visiting the bereaved families across the country since Friday to hand over the financial aid.

Himanta Biswa Sarma’s statement comes weeks after Bangladesh interim government chief Muhammad Yunus’s remarks on India’s “chicken’s neck”, a narrow strip of land in West Bengal.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday attacked those who “habitually threaten” India on the “Chicken Neck corridor” and said they should note that Bangladesh has two such narrow strips of land, which are “far more vulnerable.”

His statement comes weeks after Bangladesh interim government chief Muhammad Yunus’s remarks on “Chicken’s Neck“, a narrow strip of land in West Bengal’s Siliguri that connects the northeast region with the rest of India.

Mr Sarma, who heads one of the seven states in the northeast, said Bangladesh’s first “Chicken Neck” is the 80-kilometre-long North Bangladesh Corridor between Dakhin Dinajpur and South West Garo Hills.

“Any disruption here can completely isolate the entire Rangpur division from the rest of Bangladesh,” he posted on X and shared a map detailing the route.

He said the second one is the 28-kilometre-long Chittagong Corridor, from South Tripura to the Bay of Bengal.

“This corridor, smaller than India’s chicken neck, is the only link between Bangladesh’s economic capital and political capital,” he said.

At least 50 people were detained in Assam over the weekend as the state government stepped up its ‘verification drive’ to identify illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. According to police sources, the ‘doubtful citizens’ were detained from many districts, including Guwahati, Golaghat, Dhubri, Barpeta, and Cachar.

The detained citizens have been kept at the Rupnagar Police Reserve and their papers are being checked, officials said.

Families of some of the detained citizens said that they are Indian citizens, officials added.

The ‘verification drive’ was based on a central directive to act against Bangladeshi citizens who are staying in India illegally. It is being carried out under the supervision of the Assam Police Border Organisation, headed by an Inspector General rank officer.

However, the Assam police is yet to issue an official statement on the operation, raising questions about the transparency of the drive.

On Saturday, nine Bangladeshis staying illegally in India were arrested in Morigaon district. All of them had been declared foreign nationals by the Foreigners Tribunals but had been evading arrest.

The biennial elections are being held as the terms of eight members of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha), representing the two states, are set to expire between June and July, the Election Commission said in a statement.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday announced biennial elections to eight Rajya Sabha seats from the states of Tamil Nadu and Assam will be held on June 19 and the results will be declared the same day.

The biennial elections are being held as the terms of eight members of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha), representing the two states, are set to expire between June and July, the Election Commission said in a statement.

From Assam, two seats will fall vacant with the retirement of Mission Ranjan Das and Birendra Prasad Baishya, both of whom will demit office on June 14.

In Tamil Nadu, six Rajya Sabha members are due to retire on July 24. They are Anbumani Ramadoss, M. Shanmugam, N. Chandrasegharan, M. Mohamed Abdulla, P. Wilson, and Vaiko.

Ahead of next year’s Assam assembly elections, the Congress on Monday appointed Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi as the new president of its state unit, replacing Bhupen Kumar Borah.

The Congress also appointed three new working presidents – Jakir Hussain Sikdar, Roselina Tirkey and Pradip Sarkar – to its Assam unit.

Former Congress MLA and minister Ripun Bora has been appointed as the chairman of the state’s Election Management Committee with immediate effect.

The term of the current assembly in Assam is up to May 20, 2026, and the Congress is going all-out in its bid to wrest power from the BJP after losing two consecutive state polls.

“Congress President has appointed Gaurav Gogoi as the President and three Working Presidents of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee, with immediate effect,” a statement from AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said.

Mr Gogoi, the son of former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi, is currently the deputy leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha. His appointment comes at a time when Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the BJP have been attacking him over his British wife’s alleged connection with Pakistan’s spy agency ISI.

Following his appointment, the Jorhat MP expressed gratitude to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Venugopal and general secretary in-charge of Assam, Jitendra Singh.

”Former PCC President Shri @BhupenKBorah led the party from the front and made a tremendous contribution. I would not have been here without the guidance of my parents and the support of my family, especially my wife and children,” Mr Gogoi said in a post on X.

He also said that it was a blessing to work with many dedicated and inspiring senior leaders and workers in the Congress party in Assam.

”Their wisdom, experience and dedication to the party has taught me many things. I look forward to working with my seniors and colleagues. In the days to come I will seek the blessings of the people of Assam. I am confident that together we can create a better future for our state. Joi Ai Axom ! Jai Hind!” he added.

The statement by Mr Venugopal said the party appreciates the contributions of the outgoing PCC president Borah.

“Roselina Tirkey is being relieved of her current responsibilities as AICC Secretary,” it said.

With Mr Gogoi’s appointment as the new Assam Congress chief, the party has made it clear that the next assembly election will be fought under his leadership, and he is likely to be its chief ministerial face in the state.

“Congress President has also approved the proposal for the appointment of Chairpersons of Campaign Committee, Coordination Committee, Manifesto Committee, Publicity Committee and Election Management Committee of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee, with immediate effect,” Mr Venugopal said.

While outgoing president Mr Borah has been appointed chairperson of the Campaign Committee, Debabrata Saikia will head the Coordination Committee, Lok Sabha MP Pradyut Bordoloi will chair the Manifesto Committee and Rakibul Hussain, Lok Sabha MP, will be the chairperson of the Publicity Committee.

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