Siliguri: Shah border visit, Bengal-only highway push, north Bengal institutions proposed, GST crackdown
Home Minister Amit Shah made a significant visit to Siliguri, chairing a high-level meeting at Uttar Kanya on the implementation of the new criminal laws while also personally inspecting the indigenous surveillance system at the Jumagachh border outpost along the Bangladesh frontier. On the infrastructure front, Raiganj MP formally wrote to Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari proposing an alternative, all-Bengal national highway alignment to Siliguri that would bypass Kishanganj in Bihar. Meanwhile, Darjeeling MP Raju Singh Bisht has urged the Centre to sanction a new AIIMS near Siliguri and establish IIT and IIM campuses in north Bengal, marking an ambitious push for the region's long-neglected institutional development.
🗳️ Shah chairs new criminal law review meeting at Siliguri
Home Minister Amit Shah chaired an important review meeting at Uttar Kanya, Siliguri, on the ground-level implementation of the trio of new criminal laws that replaced colonial-era statutes in 2024: the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam. News on AIR, the government broadcaster, reported that senior police, administrative, and judicial officials from the northeastern frontier states and West Bengal attended the Siliguri meeting. Shah used the occasion to underscore the importance of timely case disposal, witness protection mechanisms, and digital integration into the criminal justice system. He reportedly emphasised that the new laws are designed to shift focus from punishment to justice, and that enforcement agencies must be trained to apply the updated provisions correctly. West Bengal's position at the Bangladesh border and its complex multi-ethnic law enforcement challenges made Siliguri a strategically appropriate venue for a regional review. The Home Ministry has been conducting similar district-level and state-level consultations across India since the new statutes came into effect. Officials at the Siliguri meeting were briefed on digital evidence handling norms and the new timelines mandated for charge-sheets and trials, signalling a push to embed the reforms at the operational level of policing and courts across this sensitive region. [3]
🗳️ Shah inspects indigenous border surveillance at Jumagachh outpost
The News Mill reported that Home Minister Amit Shah visited the Jumagachh border outpost in West Bengal to personally inspect the indigenous surveillance system deployed there along the Bangladesh frontier. The inspection was seen as a high-level signal of the government's emphasis on modernising border security using domestically developed technology under the Make in India framework. India and Bangladesh share a 4,096-kilometre land border, with West Bengal accounting for the longest stretch, and the area near Siliguri and the Chicken's Neck corridor is of particular strategic sensitivity. Shah reviewed the technical specifications of the surveillance equipment, spoke with Border Security Force officials about daily operational challenges, and assessed the readiness of forces stationed at the outpost. The visit comes against the backdrop of heightened attention to the Bangladesh border following political changes in Dhaka in recent years. The Home Ministry has accelerated the deployment of advanced surveillance and biometric-enabled border management technology across sensitive zones, replacing older infrastructure with indigenous systems. Shah's hands-on inspection at Jumagachh was read by security observers as affirming the northeast's place at the top of the ministry's security agenda, with Siliguri as the logistical nerve centre for the entire region's border management operations. [5]
🗳️ Raiganj MP proposes all-Bengal national highway route to Siliguri
The Millennium Post reported on July 24, 2026 that Raiganj MP formally wrote to Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari proposing a new national highway alignment that would provide a route to Siliguri running entirely within West Bengal, avoiding the existing passage through Kishanganj district in Bihar. The current road connectivity from southern Bengal to Siliguri passes through Kishanganj, a stretch that has long created difficulties due to varying road quality standards, inter-state coordination delays, and maintenance responsibility ambiguities. The MP's proposal argued that an all-Bengal corridor would simplify administrative jurisdiction, enable faster project completion under a single state authority, and ensure more consistent maintenance. The proposal aligns with constituency-level advocacy for better infrastructure serving the north Bengal region and connects to the broader Bharatmala highway programme. Siliguri functions as the critical commercial and transit hub for Darjeeling, Sikkim, and all eight northeastern states, meaning improved road connectivity has implications far beyond West Bengal. The proposal was submitted ahead of anticipated central highway spending decisions, and the MP urged Gadkari's ministry to commission a feasibility study for the alternate alignment. Better road access to Siliguri is also seen as important for agricultural trade, tourism, and military logistics along the northeastern frontier. [2]
🎓 Darjeeling MP pitches AIIMS, IIT and IIM for north Bengal
The Telegraph India reported on July 25, 2026 that Darjeeling MP Raju Singh Bisht has formally proposed to the Union government that a new All India Institute of Medical Sciences be established near Siliguri, and that IIT and IIM campuses be set up in the broader north Bengal region. The proposal represents an ambitious push to bridge the longstanding institutional gap between Kolkata and the districts north of the Ganga, which have historically received significantly less investment in higher education and specialised health infrastructure. An AIIMS near Siliguri would dramatically improve access to tertiary medical care for residents of Darjeeling, Dooars, Cooch Behar, and the border districts, as well as patients who currently travel from Sikkim and parts of Assam and the northeast for advanced treatment. The proposed IIT and IIM campuses, if sanctioned, would create high-end technical and management education opportunities in a region that sees significant youth migration to distant cities for professional courses. Bisht's proposals come as north Bengal continues to voice aspirations for greater developmental attention, though the institutional push is framed within the existing governance structure. The Centre's response to the proposals is awaited, with observers noting that AIIMS establishment decisions have political as well as planning dimensions at the national level. [7]
Siliguri woman held in Rs 25 crore fake GST credit racket
India Today NE reported on July 22, 2026 that the GST Intelligence and Enforcement Unit of Assam arrested a woman from Siliguri in West Bengal in connection with a fake Input Tax Credit fraud valued at over Rs 25 crore. The accused was found to be allegedly running a network of fictitious businesses used to fraudulently claim GST credits without actual goods or services being transacted. The method involved creating shell companies and generating bogus invoices, a widely used approach among GST fraudsters that has been flagged by tax authorities across the country since the goods and services tax regime came into effect in 2017. The Assam unit's jurisdiction extending into West Bengal for this arrest illustrates the cross-state nature of such financial crimes, as operators typically spread dummy businesses across multiple states to evade detection by any single enforcement authority. The arrest is part of a broader national crackdown by GST intelligence units, which have been tracking inter-state ITC fraud rings. The accused faces prosecution under the GST Act, which carries arrest and imprisonment provisions for substantial financial fraud. Officials noted that the Siliguri corridor, with its high volumes of cross-border trade with Nepal and Bhutan, is considered a known zone for GST irregularities, and enforcement units have intensified scrutiny in the region. [8]
Sources: [3] News On AIR · [5] The News Mill · [2] MillenniumPost · [7] Telegraph India · [8] India Today NE