Kolkata: Press Council of India chairman Justice Markandey Katju has described West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as "intolerant and whimsical" and warned she would lose power if she did not change. In a letter to her, Katju sought action against policemen who arrested Jadavpur University professor Ambikesh Mahapatra and farmer Shiladitya Chowdhury, the first for circulating a cartoon of the chief minister and the second for questioning her policies.
The former Supreme Court judge also said that former joint commissioner of police Damayanti Sen be restored to her earlier office, from which she was removed after she cracked a rape case on Park Street. "We all make mistakes but a gentleman is one who realises his mistake and apologizes," Katju wrote "I request you to act against the policemen who ordered and implemented the arrest of Mahapatra and Chowdhury, you should immediately withdraw the cases against them and apologize to them."
He accused Banerjee of victimising Damyanti Sen, who he said was an upright police officer. "You should apologize to her. You should also apologise to Tanya Bharadwaj whom you insulted on a CNN-IBN show." Bharadwaj, a young student, received the ire of the chief minister for questioning her on a TV show.
Katju said Banerjee's ministers and bureaucrats "are afraid to speak out their minds fearlessly before you, and are terrorised by your unpredictable and whimsical behaviour". Stating that her ways were "very unhealthy", he said Banerjee "will not be able to remain chief minister
03:30 PM, Nov 29, 2012
Kolkata: An engineering student of Jadavpur University received death threats after he became a victim of a sustained ragging campaign for the second time in two years. Siddhant Mundra said that he received two letters threatening that he would be killed if he didn't drop out of the university. The student, who hails from Murshidabad district took admission in 2011 but quit after intense ragging. When assured by the university...
04:58 PM, Oct 11, 2012
Kolkata: The West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC) on Monday found the state police guilty of harassing Jadavpur University professor Ambikesh Mahapatra and his neighbour Subrata Sengupta. Both were arrested by the West Bengal police for allegedly circulating e-mails of a controversial picture collage of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Union Railways Minister Mukul Roy in April. The three-member WBHRC panel recommended the West Bengal government to pay a compensation...
05:22 PM, Aug 13, 2012
Kolkata: The admission process for enrolment in B.Sc.(Honours), B.A.(Honours), B.Ed, M.A., M.Phil and Library Science has started at Jadavpur University, Kolkata. Candidates aspiring to join this centre of excellence may log on to http://juadmissions.org/ to register and apply. The university, one of the top centres of learning in India, usually asks selected students to sit for a written test. Pupils from all over India come to study at Jadavpur University....
02:50 PM, Jun 06, 2012
New Delhi: During her interaction with Kolkata's students and others on CNN-IBN, West Bengal Chief Minister bristled at every question that brought up the issue of intolerance and insensitive statements from the authorities. She branded most of these as 'Maoist' or 'CPI(M)' questions. However, two specific questions incensed her to a point where she openly accused the questioners " both of them university students " of being 'Maoists' and 'CPI(M)...
02:23 PM, May 20, 2012
New Delhi: It now seems that distributing satirical cartoon of Mamata Banerjee may not be the real cause behind the assault and subsequent harassment of Jadavpur University professor Ambikesh Mahapatra. Rather a clash of interests between the housing society residents and Trinamool Congress-builders nexus is emerging as the root of the trouble. Reports say that it's not free speech which is at stake, in fact Ambikesh Mahapatra was arrested because...
10:18 AM, Apr 17, 2012
A Jadavpur University professor was arrested after he forwarded some "anti-Mamata" cartoons to his friends. ...
11:59 PM, Apr 16, 2012
A Jadavpur University professor was arrested after he forwarded some "anti-Mamata" cartoons to his friends. ...
10:52 PM, Apr 16, 2012
New Delhi: Perturbed over the arrest of an eminent scientist who opposed eviction of slum dwellers in Kolkata, a group of scientists has written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh decrying West Bengal government's action and sought his immediate intervention. A number of scientists from across the country and some parts of the world have written to Singh voicing concern on the "crack down on human rights activists and...
06:36 PM, Apr 16, 2012
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is fast losing friends and making foes following the attack on a Jadavpur University professor for a cartoon lampooning her. On Saturday, however, the first signs of damage control by the West Bengal government was apparent when four Trinamool Congress workers were arrested for assaulting the professor. But the action seemed only too little too late as the four were let off immediately....
07:42 AM, Apr 15, 2012
Kolkata: Finally an attempt at damage control by the West Bengal government in an anti-Mamata Banerjee cartoon row. Four alleged Trinamool Congress workers were arrested on Saturday for assaulting Jadavpur University professor Ambikesh Mahapatra who was on Friday arrested for allegedly spreading 'anti-Mamata Banerjee' cartoons on the Internet. But unlike the professor who spent a night behind bars, the accused were let off on bail almost immediately. Mahapatra, a teacher...
09:34 PM, Apr 14, 2012
Professor Ambikesh Mahapatra of the Jadavpur University was arrested and released on bail for forwarding "anti-Mamata" cartoons to his friends via the university email system. ...
03:54 PM, Apr 14, 2012
Kolkata: The four people arrested for allegedly assaulting Jadavpur University professor Ambikesh Mahapatra have been released on bail and on a personal bond of Rs 500 rupees. This came a day after Ambikesh was arrested for sharing a satirical anti-Mamata cartoon with others through the university e-mail system and later granted bail. Ambikesh had lodged an FIR against the four on Friday at the east Jadavpur police station. The four...
02:14 PM, Apr 14, 2012
Kolkata: It was a cartoon on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that earned Jadavpur University professor Ambikesh Mahapatra and his neighbour Subrata Sengupta, the West Bengal government's ire. The two are now out on bail, after being arrested for sharing the satirical cartoon with others through the university e-mail system. Mahapatra alleges that he was roughed up by Trinamool Congress workers and forced to write an apology, confessing to being a...
07:31 AM, Apr 14, 2012
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday defended the arrest of a Jadavpur University professor over his cartoons on the internet putting her in poor light and she blamed CPI-M for raising trivial issues to "malign" her. "They don't do any work but think of ways to frame me," Banerjee said targeting the CPI-M hours after the police action against Ambikesh Mohapatra that led to a strong condemnation...
01:52 AM, Apr 14, 2012
Kolkata: West Bengal Sports and Transports Minister Madan Mitra on Friday defended the arrest of a Jadavpur University professor and his neighbour for allegedly spreading "anti-Mamata Banerjee" cartoons on the Internet. "Those who call themselves professors, if they do such ugly things, will never be forgiven. People of Bengal will give a fitting reply," said Mitra. Ambikesh Mahapatra, a teacher with the Chemistry Department of the University, and his neighbour,...
04:36 PM, Apr 13, 2012
Kolkata: A Jadavpur University professor and his neighbour were arrested on Friday morning for allegedly spreading "anti-Mamata Banerjee" cartoons on the Internet. Ambikesh Mahapatra, a teacher with the Chemistry Department of the University, and his neighbour, Subrata Sengupta, were picked up on Thursday night by the police for allegedly forwarding cartoons of Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee. The cartoon, based on Satyajit Ray's movie Sonar Kella,...
10:49 AM, Apr 13, 2012
Kolkata: Students of Jadavpur University in Kolkata on Thursday gheraoed the Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar while protesting against the university authorities' decision to install Close Circuit Television Cameras cameras on campus. They were also protesting against rules like restrictions of students' movements on campus, as well as mandatory carrying of I-cards. The decision to install CCTVs was prompted by the recovery of a body of an unknown man in a...
03:46 PM, Sep 09, 2010
Fast bowler Isuru Udana has been included in Sri Lanka's one day squad for the first time for the five-match series against India starting on July 21 at Hambantota. Batsman Chamara Kapugedera and left-arm spinner Rangana Herath were also brought in as Nuwan Pradeep, Sajeewa Weerakoon and Dilhara Fernando missed out from the squad that beat Pakistan 3-1 last month. Udana, a 24-year-old left-arm fast-medium bowler has appeared in only...
11:44 PM, Jun 09, 2008
Kolkata: The Indian cricket board is mulling the idea of organising Test matches in smaller centres to promote the longest form of the game, after seeing the poor response in major venues like Eden Gardens and New Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla during the ongoing India-West Indies series. Expressing concern over the dwindling crowds, the BCCI said it would deliberate over the matter to bring back the spectators. Speaking on the...
09:58 PM, Mar 19, 2008
