No communal undertone behind Betukandi dyke breach: Cachar SP

Silchar, July 7: Cachar SP Ramandeep Kaur, on Wednesday, categorically quashed the connotation of "Flood Jihad" being tagged to the incident of the breached dyke at Betukandi in Cachar district and subsequent flood of a massive magnitude which swept across Silchar since June 19.

Talking to reporters in a whirlwind press conference at her office,Kaur said, " based on a complaint lodged by the Department of Irrigation of a breach in the dyke, we registered a case and upon preliminary investigation and inquiry, four persons including a contractor have been arrested. Our investigation is in progress and more persons are likely to be arrested in the coming days. However, we have noticed that in some WhatsApp groups, social media platforms, portals and even some national news channels have projected the incident as FloodJihad, a word which we have never heard. There is no communal undertone behind the incident. The rainfall this year was unprecedented and this was an Act of God. Those who have damaged public property (Betukandi dyke) will be probed and action as per the law of the land would be taken against them."

The SP further said that Silchar is a peaceful place and they might not have witnessed the flood of such massive scale. " I urge the people not to extrapolate things and disturb the peace of the place. Those media houses and portals which have spread the wrong connotations will be strongly dealt with and proper action will be taken. Kaur said that based on the direction of Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma sir, a team of CID is here to discreetly investigate the incident.