New Pakistani influx

Fresh infiltration of Pakistanis — all Muslims — into Assam has been reported and there is a strong public feeling that had there been stricter measures for detection and deportation of the illegal infiltrants already in the State, there would not have been a new influx of Pakistanis. Two thousand new infiltrants have been detected in a particular area in Darrang district. One belief is that they came by small country boats over the Brahmaputra from Rangpur and Mymensingh districts. Some of these people are, it is reported, desperately trying to establish that they are Indian nationals by producing old and suspicious documents which include prescriptions by doctors and by impersonation. Some Pakistani Muslims deported earlier were also found to have re-entered Assam.

Defamation

Calling a person “420” amounted to defamation, said a Special Magistrate, while sentencing Rama Shanker Singh, President of a Gram Sabha, to a fine of Rs.100 or in default to three months’ imprisonment under Section 500 I.P.C. Bhullan Singh, the complainant, was a man of position, member of the District Congress Committee and Director of the District Co-operative Bank, the Magistrate said and held that the accused had lowered the prestige of the complainant in the eyes of others by calling him a “420.” (The offence of cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property falls under Section 420 I.P.C.)

Monsoon birds in Bombay

The crested cuckoos, heralders of the monsoon, have been seen in Bombay. The first of the monsoon birds was seen by bird watchers at Andheri in North Bombay some days ago. The arrival of these birds signals early onset of the South-West Monsoon in Bombay. Meanwhile, meteorologists maintained that the monsoon was moderate in the South Arabian Sea and adjoining parts of the Malabar coast. There appeared to be no immediate indication of advance of the monsoon towards north. The monsoon, they forecast, was likely to hit Bombay either towards the end of the first week of June or the beginning of the second week.