Bengal

WB: Mamata govt releases performance report on 2 years rule

Kolkata: West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee led government on Thursday released a performance report, claiming the state has clocked a growth rate higher than that of the overall country during the nearly two years it has been in power. The performance report showcasing the achievements of the state government was released at the state secretariat, four days before the regime completes two years in office. Making public the report titled "Powering...  

WB panchayat polls: Differences between govt, EC continues

Kolkata: There were differences at a meeting on Thursday between the State Election Commission (SEC) and the West Bengal government over fixing dates for the three-tier panchayat elections after the Calcutta High Court's direction that the two mutually agree on it. "We suggested certain dates and they (state government) also placed some dates for the panchayat election to be held in three phases as per the High Court order," State...  

Chit fund scam: Sudipta Sen opposes CBI probe

Kolkata: Saradha group chairman Sudipta Sen, who has been accused of cheating lakhs of investors of their money running into thousands of crores, on Wednesday opposed a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the complaints against him and his companies in an affidavit filed before the Calcutta High Court. He claimed before a division bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Joymalyo Bagchi that the Special Investigation Team...  

Cyclonic storm Mahasen moves eastwards

Kolkata: Cyclonic storm 'Mahasen,' which lay over west-central Bay of Bengal, has moved eastwards and is now about 730 kms south-southwest of Kolkata, according to the regional meteorological centre here. The system is now located in the west-central bay and is likely to intensify further, move in northeast direction and cross the Bangladesh coast close to Chittagong on Thursday night, it said. Under its impact, rain or thundershower may occur...  

Edeh Chidi hat-trick takes EB to AFC Cup quarter-final

Kolkata: Talismanic Nigerian Edeh Chidi struck a hat-trick and set up a couple more as East Bengal thrashed Yangon United of Myanmar 5-1 to enter the AFC Cup quarter-final for the second time after 2004. It was Chidi (25th, 71st and 76) who made his presence felt with a treble while Penn Orji (2nd) and captain Mehtab Hossain (48th) chipped in with a goal each much to the delight of...  

WB panchayat polls: Govt, EC likely to meet on Thursday

Kolkata: A day after the Calcutta High Court directed the West Bengal government and the State Election Commission to mutually decide on dates for the panchayat election, a move has been initiated by both to hold a meeting on Thursday. The meeting will take place amidst a deadline set by the High Court to complete the poll process by July 15. SEC secretary Tapas Roy told reporters that the meeting...  

WB: Indian Army's first woman jawan found dead

Kolkata: Indian Army's first woman jawan (personnel) Shanti Tigga was found hanging in a railway hospital in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district on Tuesday, police said. A senior police officer said prima facie it appeared to be a case of suicide. The 37-year-old Tigga's body was found in the toilet of a cabin at the Alipurduar Railway Hospital. Tigga, attached to the 969 Railway Engineer Regiment of the Territorial Army and...  

WB govt hails HC order on panchayat elections

Kolkata: The West Bengal government on Tuesday hailed the Calcutta High Court order on panchayat elections as "historic." "This is a historic order of the hon'ble High Court and we are very happy," state panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee said. A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday rejected the State Election Commission (SEC) order for 800 companies of central forces to man the panchayat polls, and directed that...  

I choose my roles by the importance of the character: Rajesh Sharma

Critically acclaimed actor Rajesh Sharma, who has acted in films such as "Maachis", "Ishqiya", "No One Killed Jessica", "The Dirty Picture" and "Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana", joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on his future projects and his experience of acting in the Bengali film "Kagojer Nouka (Paper Boat)" which is based on the chit fund bust in eastern India. Q. Will this movie have English subtitle..for those who...  

WB: 3 coaches of Haldibari Express get derailed

Kolkata: Three coaches of the Haldibari Express on Tuesday got derailed between Nalhati and Chatra. There was, however, no injury to any passenger, a railway spokesman said. The train was running from Kolkata to Haldibari in north Bengal. The railway has opened a helpline at Sealdah station whose number is 23503537 and two in Kolkata station with numbers 23503076 and 27050307. (With Additional Inputs From PTI) ...  

Paramilitary forces during WB Panchayat polls not necessary: HC

Kolkata: In a breather for the Mamata Banerjee government, the division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday said that it is not mandatory to deploy central paramilitary forces for the upcoming Panchayat polls. The West Bengal government had appealed the higher bench after a single bench upheld the State Election Commission's plea for three-phase polling and deployment of central forces. The State government wanted two-phase polling and security...  

WB govt-owned theatre refuses to screen 'Kagojer Nouka'

Kolkata: A West Bengal government owned film centre in Kolkata has reportedly refused to screen a movie on the chit fund scam. State-owned Nandan film centre says it will not screen the movie 'Kagojer Nouka' (which means Paper boat). The movie's director has alleged that the cinema hall authorities have not previewed the film despite submitting documents well in advance. The film has also not found any takers among multi-plexes...  

WB chit fund scam: What forces people to invest in ponzi schemes?

Kolkata: As the Calcutta High Court begins hearing pleas seeking a CBI probe into the Sharada group chit fund scam on Tuesday, CNN-IBN has found that it is unemployment and stunted industrial and agricultural growth in the state that is forcing people to invest in ponzi schemes. Seventy-year-old Sunil Sarkar recounts how he found his son Jayanta Sarkar's body at the terrace hanging by a rope. Jayanta, who was allegedly...  

WB: Court asks SEC to identify sensitive poll booths

Kolkata: Hearing will continue on Tuesday in the Calcutta High Court on the standoff between West Bengal government and the state Election Commission (EC) over panchayat elections. On Monday, the WB government filed a fresh appeal to a higher bench against the old judgement of the Single bench in favour of the EC. The court directed the state poll panel to make a proper assessment over need for security for...  

Double whammy for Mamata Banerjee government in court

Kolkata: Delivering a double blow to West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee government, the Calcutta High Court on Monday ordered CBI probe into a Trinamool Congress worker's death allegedly in police custody and refused to suspend its earlier verdict upholding the primacy of the State Election Commission. A division bench of Chief Justice Arun Mishra and Justice JM Bagchi took the twin decisions hearing separate cases within a gap of hours in...  

WB: Chit fund scam claims its 12th victim

Barasat: The chit fund scam in West Bengal claimed its twelfth victim on Monday with an agent of a ponzi scheme found hanging in his home at Basirhat in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district. Police said the body of Ujjwal Samaddar, a 27-year-old agent of Sanmarg ponzi scheme, was found hanging in his home at Harishpur village on Monday morning. Samaddar's neighbours said a group of of depositors had...  

WB panchayat polls: High Court defers hearing till Tuesday

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has deferred till Tuesday the hearing related to the tussle between West Bengal and the state election commission over the number of phases in the Panchayat election. West Bengal government on Monday filed a fresh appeal to a higher bench against an old judgement that upheld the supremacy of state election commission while conducting Panchayat polls. The crucial rural polls are slated in June this...  

Court orders CBI probe into Dhaniakhali custodial death

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Monday ordered a CBI investigation into the alleged custodial death of a youth in the Dhaniakhali police station area in Hooghly district. Passing the order on a PIL seeking a probe by the central agency, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Joymalyo Bagchi directed that the CBI investigate the death of Kaji Nasiruddin on January 18. The bench directed the...  

West Bengal: Chit fund duped farm labourer attempts suicide

Jalpaiguri: A daily wage farm labourer on Monday allegedly attempted to commit suicide after losing money in Saradha chit fund scam. Sixteen-year-old Sahanur Rahman tried to end his life by drinking pesticide Monday morning at his home near here, the police said. He had invested Rs 75,000 with Saradha chit fund group after being lured by a promise of higher returns, sources said. He was in depression since the chit...  

Calcutta HC orders CBI probe into TMC activist's custodial death

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the death of a Trinamool Congress activist in police custody in January. 30-year-old Kazi Nasiruddin, a TMC activist, had died after he was allegedly tortured by the police. He had been arrested following a face-off with the police over a car parking issue and taken to the police station. He was later on taken to the...