Bodo Students Demand Interventions by CM Himanta in so-called BTC Education Scam

The Bodo National Students' Union (BoNSU) has requested Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to intervene and bring to a halt what is claimed to be a huge corruption scandal in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) Education Department. The student union has charged BTC government officials with corrupt practices in procuring high-priced books from blacklisted publishing companies for Bodoland University-related colleges.

This amidst growing student agitations across the Bodoland region. Previously, the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) had organized a protest on Bodoland University campus in Kokrajhar for the ouster of Vice Chancellor Dr. Laishram Ladu Singh at the earliest. The protest was in reaction to last year's arrest of Dr. Singh by the Directorate of Vigilance & Anti-Corruption and Chief Minister's Vigilance Cell on corruption charges. Since then released on bail, Singh remains a controversial figure.

The students were also irate against the inquiry committee formed by Assam Governor to investigate into the matter. The committee members are Dr. Mihir Kanti Choudhury (Secretariat Adviser), Additional Chief Secretary Higher Education Department, Prof. S.K. Dev of IIT Guwahati, and Dr. B.B. Misra, Finance Officer, Tezpur University. ABSU protested the proceedings of the committee and once again demanded the sacking of Dr. Singh.

The controversy goes back to the May 30 previous year, when a financial misuse of the university's funds was exposed, and the CM's Vigilance Cell had taken a number of crucial documents.

As the controversy gained momentum, ABSU declared a grand protest march on October 11, pressurizing the state government to act decisively.