Rangpo rounds up all muncipalities for SDF

The gateway to Sikkim was the town whose votes were counted the last today and here at least there were some jitters for the ruling front when the Chanatar ward saw a close contest. In the end though, with Rangpo Nagar Panchayat, SDF completed a clean sweep of the municipal elections...

Peddler walks into Rangpo to avoid checking, still gets caught

GANGTOK, 06 May: One person was arrested by the Rangpo police yesterday in possession of contraband substances.
At 3.30 p.m. Naik Surya Thapa posted at Rangpo Check Post informed the Rangpo Police Station that he had intercepted one Subash Sharma of Ranka Dhajey under suspicion of being in possession of prescription drugs of abuse. The suspect had reportedly disembarked from a taxi at Rangpo on the West Bengal side and had walked into Sikkim through the Check Post to avoid checking normally limited to inbound vehicles, it is informed.
A search led to the recovery of a substantial cache of substances of abuse – prescription drugs Spasmo Poxyvon [555 capsules] and Nitrosun-10 [96 tablets], apart from a tube of dendrite [also abused] and a small quantity of Marijuana from the carry-bag that the accused was carrying.
He was accordingly taken into custody and booked under sections 7 (a) (b)/9 (d)/14 the SAD Act.

BRO begins blacktopping of Rangpo-Rorathang road

GANGTOK, 19 Nov: The Border Roads Organisation has begun the blacktopping of the Rangpo-Rorathang road in East Sikkim. This work has been taken up by the BRO in addition to its black topping work underway in Gangtok where it has been engaged in black topping of the Ranipool – Gangtok highway for the past almost one year.
In an appeal to the public the BRO has requested that commuters and others desist from using the Rangpo-Rorathang stretch between 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM for the next three weeks.
As informed by the BRO, it will take around 3 weeks to complete the blacktopping of the road stretch which is 10.91 km in length.
Additionally, it may be informed that the Rangpo to Rorathang road was previously under the state PWD and recently handed over to the BRO. The road agency has also appealed to the state police in a letter dated 14 November to assist it in the road carpeting. The police has deployed 2 personnel but apparently this is not sufficient for the BRO to execute its work without interruption.

One booked for forgery and cheating

GANGTOK, 20 June: A case of forgery and cheating has been registered against one Dinesh Goyal, a resident of Mandi Bazaar, Rangpo at the Rangpo Police Station on 19 June.
According to an FIR lodged by Banshidhar Agarwal, resident of Mandi Bazaar, Rangpo, a shop by the name of M/S Chetaram Murilidhar at Mandi Bazaar was owned by him and eight years ago he had brought his grandson Dinesh Goyal from Rajasthan to assist him in running the shop.
The accused had taken custody of the shop and forced the complainant to leave the shop. Dinesh had fraudulently obtained a trade License and a registration of firm in the name of M/S Chetaram Murilidhar and had also opened a bank account at Axis Bank in Rangpo in the name of the firm and had made various transactions in the said account in the name of the said firm thereby causing loss to the complainant.
The accused Dinesh has been arrested by the Rangpo police and has been booked under sections 441/420/468/471 [criminal trespass, cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property, forgery for purpose of cheating and using as genuine a forged document] of the Indian Penal Code and the case is under investigation.

Hee-Gaon farmers fetch the highest price at 6th large cardamom auction

GANGTOK, 14 Mar: The 6th large cardamom auction was conducted by NERAMAC Ltd today at Spices Board’s auction centre at Rangpo.
A press release informs that the total arrival of large cardamom in the auction centre from all the four districts of Sikkim was 3.684 MT. Total quantity sold from the 42 lots was 2.604 MT worth Rs. 18,23,025 and 1.080 MT was withdrawn for next auction to be conducted on 28 March 2012.
Sukhlal Limbu from Hee-Gaon, West Sikkim fetched the highest price of large cardamom i.e Rs. 900 per kg (Rs. 36,000 per mound) in the auction which is much higher than the prevailing market price whereas minimum price was Rs. 635 per kg for inferior quality, the release informs. The average price of large cardamom in the 6th auction was Rs. 739 per kg i.e. Rs 29, 560 per mound.
Sr. Zonal Manager of NERAMAC Ltd, PC Roy has thanked the large cardamom growers and dealers for their participation in the auction and expressed his hope that the next auction to be held on 28 March will be more successful.
Mr Roy informed that the large cardamom growers who contributed maximum crop in the first year’s auction for the year 2010-11 will be awarded in a Seminar on “Fruit-wine and its commercialization” on 23 March at Denzong Regency, Gangtok, the release further mentions.

Two break-ins and one two-wheeler torched

GANGTOK, 13 Mar: One person has been arrested by the Nayabazaar police for having broken into a temple. The accused, Niraj Rai, 33 and a resident of Pokhrbong, Sukhia in West Bengal is accused of breaking into the Devithan mandir and stealing some items from the temple on the night of 11 March.
In another case, a house break-in and theft as been reported from Rangpo. As per reports some unknown persons broke into the house of Malati Tamang at Duga on 12 March between noon and 1 PM and stole cash amount of Rs. 5000 and several gold jewelry items. The police have rounded up one suspect who is being interrogated.
Meanwhile, a scooter belonging to one Hari Kumar Chettri was set alight at Soreong. Though no one has been arrested as yet, according to reports the scooter which was parked at Ridang, Timburbung was damaged in the fire. This took place at around 1 AM on 12 March.

Altercation over Govt contract leads to assault at Rangpo

GANGTOK, 09 Mar: The filing of tenders for a government project has led to a case of grievous assault in Rangpo. Six persons are reportedly absconding after having allegedly attacked and hurt two others at Rangpo on the night of 07 March at around 11:30 PM.
As per reports the two victims are Amosh Rai and the brother of Simon Rai of Rangpo Bazaar who is also the complainant. As per his complaint with the Rangpo police the two victims were assaulted upon by Bisa Biswakarma and 5 others with khukuri at Lower IBM, Rangpo.
It is informed that the two sides were engaged in a heated argument that day over the submission of tender forms at the Rangpo Nagar Panchayat office which led to the assault later in the night. All 6 accused are absconding at present.

11-day Holi celebrations begin at Rangpo

RANGPO, 27 Feb: The eleven-day Holi festival under the banner of All India Marwari Yuva Manch Rangpo began here on Sunday. The festival being organised towards preserving traditional culture has been a regular feature at Rangpo for many years. The first day witnessed children and adults alike taking part in the festival, and more participation is expected in the coming days. [from SANJAY AGARWAL]

1 charged with forging Residential Certificate in Rangpo

GANGTOK, 01 Feb: A case of forgery has been registered on 31 January in the Rangpo Police Station against one Tanvir Ahmed, resident of Rangpo Bazaar on receiving an FIR from ADC [East]. He has been charged with using a fake and forged Residential Certificate.
According to reports, a copy of Residential Certificate [RC] bearing memo number 1026, dated: 25-04-1994 of Tanvir Ahmed was forwarded to the office of the ADC [East] for verification for genuineness by Municipal Executive Officer, Rangpo Nagar Panchayat. While verifying of the record it was found that the Certificate was not issued from the office of the ADC [East] and was found to be forged.
A case under section 468/471 [forgery for purpose of cheating and using as genuine a forged document] has been filed in the Rangpo Police Station. Tanvir is yet to be arrested.

SRDS holds advocacy meeting on legal aspects of HIV and addiction

GANGTOK, 29 Jan: Sikkim Rehabilitation and Detoxification Society [SRDS] conducted an advocacy meeting at the Rangpo Drop-in-Centre on legal aspects of HIV/Drug Addiction on 25 January.
A press release informs that SRDS president, Joseph Tamang and project coordinator, Ayub Tamang gave a brief introduction about the project on Targeted Intervention among IDUs sponsored by the Sikkim State AIDS Control Society [SSACS] and its services by the DIC to the TGs [Target Group].
This was followed by a talk on related issues by Dr Upashana Gurung. Chief guest of the day, SDPO, Rangpo, Linda Palmu, in her address spoke on NDPS/SADA and stressed on the need for NGOs, Police Department and the society to work together in order to fight this problem, the release mentions. She also emphasized on the need for care, cooperation, unity and love to help the young in their fight against addiction, the release adds.

Gov flags off educational tour organized by ITBPF

GANGTOK, 22 Jan: Governor of Sikkim, BP Singh flagged off an educational tour organized by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBPF) to commemorate the Golden Jubilee Year celebration of ITBP, from Rangpo (Raj Bhawan) on Saturday.
A press release informs that this educational tour is part of the Civic Action Programme being conducted by the 11th Bn. comprising of 20 school students including thirteen boys and seven girls and two teachers of North Sikkim’s Tasa Tangy Govt Sec. School, Chungthang  accompanied by one ITBP officer. The Governor also interacted with the school students and shared the importance of such educational tours and the learning that comes from it.
The educational tour is planned up to 31 Jan and during this period the students will be visiting Delhi and Agra. In addition to sight seeing they will also be interacting with various dignitaries and will also attend the Republic Day parade at Rajpath, New Delhi. The aim of this excursion tour is to promote national integration, inculcate a sense of belonging in these students towards their country, to expose them to developmental activities in other parts of the country and to show and share unique cultural heritage, the release mentions.
The year 2012 is being celebrated as the Golden Jubilee Year of ITBP which was raised in the year 1962. Various significant events are being planned to celebrate the Golden Jubilee Year by reaching out to maximum number of villages of North Sikkim in a meaningful way, the release adds.
IPS, DIG Sector Headquarters Gangtok, Amit Prasad along with Commandant 11th Bn Pawan Malik and other officers were also present on the occasion. The DIG also appraised the Governor about the activities of the ITBP under its programmes in the far flung areas of Sikkim.

AHVS Deptt officials visit Rangpo following pigeon death reports

GANGTOK, 16 Jan: Following the death of pigeons in Rangpo Bazaar reported in local newspapers in the past few days, officials of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services from Gangtok inspected Rangpo Bazaar today. The officials also held a meeting with Rangpo Nagar Panchayat vice-president, Pushpa Mishra, regarding the issue.
AH&VS Director, Dr T Lucksom, AH&VS Deputy Director, Dr SM Rai and staff of Rangpo AH&VS accompanied by Ms Mishra surveyed the area and inspected the pigeons. The team has also taken live pigeons as samples for lab tests.
Dr Lucksom urged the people of Rangpo not to panic as it is not avian flu but a parasitic infection. Informing that pigeon samples have been taken to the departmental laboratory to ascertain the cause behind the deaths, he again urged the people not to panic and added that there is no big threat to humans.

Rangpo cops install complaint and suggestion boxes

RANGPO, 09 Jan: Police complaint and suggestion boxes were installed here at three locations under the Rangpo Police Station jurisdiction. This comes from the proactive initiative of Rangpo SDPO, DSP L Palmo.
These boxes have  been installed at the Rangpo traffic point, SDPO office and Singtam Police Station.
When contacted, the SDPO explained that the main concept behind the complaint and suggestion boxes was to improve public-police relations to facilitate better management of the law and order affairs here.

UCO Bank opens branch in Rangpo

RANGPO, 15 Dec: UCO Bank opened its fourth branch in the State here at Rangpo today. The bank was inaugurated by General Manager, RBI, Gangtok Zone, EE Karthok.

2 booked under SAD Act in Rangpo

GANGTOK, 02 Dec: Two persons were booked under section 9/14 of the Sikkim Anti-Drugs Act at the Rangpo Police Station on 01 December when they were found in possession of controlled substances.

One caught with explosives in Rangpo

GANGTOK, 01 Dec: The Rangpo police today arrested one person on charges of possessing explosive substances. It has been a while since the police has apprehended or charged anyone with possession of such substances.

Rangpo Indrakil Prayag construction work to begin in Feb 2012

GANGTOK, 29 Nov: The construction work for the Rangpo Indrakil Prayag will begin in February next. The decision was taken at a meeting held today at the conference hall of the Rangpo Tourism Office after the area MLA and Minister, Neeru Sewa inspected the site.

Bakr-Id begins at Rangpo

RANGPO, 07 Nov: The three-day Bakr-id festival of the Muslim community began from today after the Namaaz here at Rangpo.

Rangpo Lions help dispel dam rumours

RANGPO, 26 Sept:  Following rumours of a dam-burst at the Teesta Stage-V site at Dikchu which created much panic among people downstream, members of the Lions Club of Rangpo Gateway of Sikkim visited the Dikchu dam returned with video footage and photographs to prove that the dam was fine.

Murder at Majhitar

RANGPO, 21 Aug: A 58-year-old was hacked to death in his room at Majhitar near Rangpo yesterday. Although no arrests have been made thus far, the police is following up on a lead – a note, presumably written by the victim naming the murderer.
Tilak Bahadur Manger, security guard of SB Herbals here, was found dead in a pool of blood of his room yesterday.
Upon receiving information of the murder, a police team led by SDPO [Rangpo], RK Sundas, PI Sonam Wangdi and SI Milan Kanta Sharma of Rangpo Police Station arrived at the spot and began investigations.
The investigating recovered a handwritten note naming one Ram Kumar as the attacker. This note is presumed to have been written by the victim. While this “Ram Kumar” has not yet been identified, investigation is underway. [from SANJAY AGARWAL]