Thousands of TMC supporters thronged the rally route, waving the party flags, raising slogans and holding aloft colourful posters.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed an appeal in the Calcutta High Court seeking the death penalty for Sanjay Roy, who was sentenced to "life imprisonment until death" for the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The CBI argued that the crime falls under the "rarest of rare" category deserving capital punishment, while the trial court had ruled otherwise. The West Bengal government has also appealed for the death penalty, but the CBI opposed the state's right to file an appeal, claiming it was the prosecuting agency and therefore had the right to appeal on the grounds of inadequacy of the sentence. The high court will hear the appeals from the CBI, the victim's family, and the convict on January 27.
Unidentified assailants hurled bombs and opened fire outside the residence of BJP leader and former MP Arjun Singh in Bhatpara, West Bengal, injuring a youth. Singh alleged that Trinamool Congress (TMC) councillor Sunita Singh's son, Namit Singh, was behind the attack. Police are investigating the incident and have deployed security forces in the area.
The rallies were organised from R G Kar hospital, Sagore Dutta Hospital, SSKM Hospital, Calcutta Medical College, and Jadavpur in south Kolkata.
Referring to clashes between police and teachers outside the district inspector of schools' office at Kasba in Kolkata, Pant appealed to the educators not to get involved in confrontations so that their plan to legally resolve the impasse does not get affected.
The court also directed the state to pay a compensation of Rs 17 lakh to the family of the deceased doctor.
Police have constituted a nine-member special investigation team (SIT) to probe into the alleged rape of a woman by a student at the Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta, officials said on Saturday
The father of two sisters in Agra, whose missing persons complaint exposed an illegal religious conversion racket, claims his daughters were 'brainwashed' by some Kashmiri girls. Ten people have been arrested from six states in connection with the case.
The West Bengal Police on Wednesday arrested Ariyan Khan, one of the prime accused in the Howrah sex and pornographic film racket, from a hideout in the Golf Green area of south Kolkata, a senior officer said.
According to the cause list of August 20 uploaded on the apex court website, a bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra is scheduled to hear on Tuesday.
The protestors called the state's administrative measures "only partial victory" of their movement.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited the building collapse site at Azan Molla Lane in the city's western periphery and assured local residents of stern action against illegal construction.
Police, however, have found several discrepancies in the statements of the accused student of the IIM-Calcutta, he said.
The top court will hear the probe agency's applications on Tuesday.
Sekhar Roy was summoned by the police in connection with a social media post he made over the alleged rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
"I feel ashamed to talk to such a prime minister who has blood on his hands," she said.
The Mamata Banerjee government will table the anti-rape bill in the West Bengal Assembly on Tuesday.
Daily life was partially affected in West Bengal on Wednesday due to a 12-hour shutdown called by the Bharatiya Janata Party, protesting the police action against demonstrators during a march to the state secretariat.
Since, the administrative functioning majorly happens at Club House, adjacent blocks (B, C, D, K and L) would not be used for it, allowing the association to use them for conducting its activities for its administrative works.
The raging controversy over the fake COVID-19 vaccination camps in parts of Kolkata snowballed into a political storm ensnaring into it several TMC leaders, prompting the opposition BJP to demand a CBI probe into a 'larger conspiracy' in the case.
Refuting allegations of brutal lathi charge on Jadavpur university students, Kolkata police commissioner Surajit Kar Purakayastha on Thursday said the situation could have turned worse had the police not intervened as there were reports of armed miscreants entering the campus.
A businessman was allegedly kidnapped from outside a shopping mall in south Kolkata's Kasba area but was rescued within hours, a senior police officer said on Thursday.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claims a Bengali-speaking woman and her child were threatened in Delhi after an alleged assault. She urges Bengali migrant workers in BJP-ruled states to return to Bengal if harassed and questions the absence of central commissions in BJP-ruled states when atrocities occur.
According to the Federation of Resident Doctors Association, during the indefinite strike, all outpatient departments, operation theatres, and ward duties will be shut, but emergency services will continue to operate as usual, ensuring that urgent patient care remains unaffected.
The parents of the victim doctor in the RG Kar hospital rape-murder case have alleged that the investigation is incomplete and several others involved in the crime are still at large. The court is set to deliver its verdict on Saturday, with Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, facing charges of committing the crime. The victim's parents expressed concerns about the presence of other individuals at the crime scene who remain unidentified. The CBI, which is investigating the case, has sought capital punishment for Roy, claiming he was the sole perpetrator.
Healthcare services remained affected at state-run hospitals in West Bengal as junior doctors continued their cease-work protest.
Senior West Bengal minister Siddiqullah Chowdhury on Monday criticised the ongoing 'cease work' by junior doctors, labeling it as "drama" and a "politicised event" intended to malign the Trinamool Congress government in the state.
The apex court also said no coercive steps, including the arrest of the Kolkata Police chief, will take place during the course of investigation.
The protesting doctors said they would not work in the Outpatient Department but would partially work in emergency and essential services.
'The man was carrying arms, one khukri, ganja and several identity cards of different agencies like BSF and others. He wanted to meet the CM. This is a serious issue. We are trying to find out what was his actual purpose'
'A murder has occurred in the room, but there were no signs of struggle.' 'RG Kar says the body was discovered at 9:30 am. But the media was informed at 8:30 am.' 'We realised that crucial evidence was being destroyed.' 'She had several bite marks on her neck, but no swab was collected.' 'My daughter had 28 injuries on her body. But there was no DNA of the assailant under her nails.' 'Are you saying she did not try to defend herself?'
The permission is subject to some restrictions including a cap of 4,000 on the number of attendees.
'Sanjay Roy is not alone.' 'If he's kept alive, maybe we will know what happened.' 'Why was he in the chest medicine department that night when he never went there earlier?' 'Nobody will parade in front of a CCTV camera and then go and murder someone.' 'There are several people who are involved in this heinous crime. They have to be identified and punished.'
West Bengal Chief Minister said the decision will be implemented as early as possible.
Banerjee, who also takes care of the home department, said Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal has offered to resign in the wake of the protests but "we need someone who knows law and order ahead of Durga puja".
The first round of talks between the West Bengal government and the agitating junior doctors began at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's residence in Kalighat on Monday evening to address the RG Kar impasse.
'Although there is a visible dent in TMC's urban votes, especially among women, the CPI-M and the BJP are unlikely to benefit from this'
A group in Kolkata was allegedly denied permission to organise a seminar on refugees of Balochistan and Kashmir after a club hosting the program said the police was "not willing" to show a green signal, "apprehending that it might create problems in the city".
The top court on Monday directed the protesting resident doctors to resume work by 5 pm on Tuesday, observing that if "there is continued abstention from work, there may be a likelihood of adverse action".
Amid persistent rain, the protesting doctors continued their sit-in outside 'Swasthya Bhavan', the state health department headquarters in Salt Lake, for the sixth consecutive day.
