Guwahati, Sep 7 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said around 380 middlemen, who mainly operated near police stations, have been arrested in the state during a special operation over the past few days.
He said the drive would be extended to other departments to rid government offices of middlemen who allegedly take money from the public in the name of getting their work done.
Addressing a press conference here, Sarma said the first such operation against middlemen operating in the vicinity of police stations was carried out in 2022, when around 200 people were arrested.
The menace had declined over the next two years but became active again about a year before the last Assembly election, he claimed.
Sarma said the names of such middlemen and frauds had been centrally compiled over the past few months, with social media and mainstream media reports being used as sources, while officers-in-charge at the police station level were kept unaware of the exercise.
“We verified the information, and around 410 ‘dalals or middlemen’ were identified. Of these, around 380 have been arrested,” he said.
Sarma said similar drives against middlemen will be carried out in other government departments, with the process on to identify them.
“The special branch of police will come up with a portal to enable the public to submit names of such middlemen. Of course, action will be taken only after verification,” he added.
The intensified operation against people accused of being involved in various fraudulent activities, including impersonating police personnel, was undertaken since early Saturday, on the basis of special directives from the CM, who also holds the home department, issued during the recently concluded two-day conference of top police officers. PTI SSG SSG MNB
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.