At least seven opposition parties in Assam have demanded a probe into the alleged “PPE kits scam” and rise in police encounters in the state.
The seven opposition parties in Assam, including the Congress and the Left parties jointly demanded a CBI probe into the “PPE kits scam” and rise in police encounters in the state.
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The opposition parties in Assam demanded CBI probe into the alleged corruption in giving contracts for supply PPE kits and sanitizers to firms owned by wife of chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and a family business friend.
It is being alleged that the contracts were awarded to the firms for supply of PPE kits and sanitizers “above market rates” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The opposition parties in Assam that demanded the CBI probe are: Congress, CPI, CPI-M, CPI-ML, Assam Jatiya Parishad, Raijor Dal and Anchalik Gana Morcha.
The Assam opposition parties have also demanded a high-level inquiry into the rise in “encounter killings and custodial deaths” in the state by a sitting high court judge.
Notably there has been an unprecedented rise in “encounter killings and custodial deaths” in Assam ever since Himanta Biswa Sarma took charge as the CM of the state in 2021.
the seven opposition parties in Assam submitted a joint memorandum to Assam governor Jagdish Mukhi.
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They demanded a speedy inquiry into the allegations by CBI under the supervision of the Gauhati high court in the alleged “PPE kit scam”.
“The alleged corruption in giving contracts to a firm of current chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife and family business friend to supply PPE kits when Sarma was the health minister has been unearthed with the fact sheet,” the Assam opposition parties alleged in the memorandum.
It added: “All norms were reportedly flouted by the health department while awarding contracts for the supply of medical equipment to fight COVID-19.”
“The extrajudicial killings in Assam be immediately stopped and constitutional values and the rule of law be restored. The guidelines of the Hon’ble Supreme Court and National Human Rights Commission with regard to custodial deaths/encounter killings be strictly followed,” it added.