With normal life thrown out of gear by the region's worst weather disasters, the authorities scrambled in various parts of the state to restore normalcy.
As Odisha and West Bengal are bracing for a severe cyclonic storm, governments of both states started evacuating people and while deciding to close educational institutions in vulnerable areas.
A delegation of the NCSC had visited Sandeshkhali on Thursday after a large number of women claimed that TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters captured swathes of land by force and also sexually harassed them.
"My father and uncles are no more, our family is devastated," said an inconsolable Avijit, the son of Haran.
The player, a resident of Barrackpore town in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, allegedly forged documents, like Permanent Resident of Tripura Certificate (PRTC) and Ration Card, to play for Tripura, they said.
The ruling Trinamool Congress on Thursday hailed the arrest of absconding party leader Shajahan Sheikh, accused of torturing villagers in trouble-torn Sandeshkhali area, and said it was possible only after the court cleared the decks and accused the opposition of exploiting the earlier 'embargo' on his arrest.
In the sixth case of suicide in connection with the collapsed chit fund company Saradha, a depositor, who had invested his money in the scam-ridden company on Friday committed suicide in South 24 Parganas district.
About 68 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm on Wednesday in 38 assembly constituencies in Jharkhand where voting in the second and final phase ended, officials said.
The riverine Sandeshkhali area in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district -- situated on the borders of the Sunderbans, about 100 kilometres from Kolkata -- has been on the boil for more than a month with protests against Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Shahjahan, who is absconding, and his supporters.
People from all walks of life -- former students of several educational institutions, clay modellers, rickshaw pullers and junior doctors -- separately hit the streets of Kolkata on Sunday in continued protest over the rape and murder of a medic in a state-run hospital a month ago.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said that one person died in the state in cyclone Dana, even as the administration evacuated around 2.16 lakh people from the low-lying areas.
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A team of CID officers were in the process of searching for the victim's body parts at the Krishnamati village in Bhangar where the butcher had led them.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is likely to move the Calcutta high court on Wednesday against the West Bengal government for not handing over suspended Trinamool Congress leader Shajahan Sheikh's custody to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a highly placed source said.
Over 1.03 crore voters will decide the political fate of 306 candidates in this phase.
Modi, while addressing a rally in Barasat, said whatever happened with women in Sandeshkhali "is a matter of shame".
Sixteen more bodies were found during search operations on Monday, taking the toll to 41 in the trawler capsize mishap near Talpatty island in the Hooghly river in South 24 Parganas district. "Sixteen more bodies were recovered, but the toll is likely to rise as there is a possibility of recovering more bodies," said South 24 Parganas District Magistrate N S Nigam.
Citing Section 144 CrPC was in force in parts of Sandeshkhali and it would not be prudent to allow them access to the area even in groups of four-five, senior police officers stopped their convoy at the Bhojerhat area, which is around 52 km from the riverine area, on Basanti Highway.
Cyclonic storm Yaas is very likely to make landfall near Balasore in north Odisha with a speed of 155 kmph to 165 kmph, gusting to 185 kmph, around noon on May 26, the Met department said.
The SEC, which held a meeting on Sunday evening, went through reports of vote-tampering and violence which affected polling in many places, and passed the order, an official said.
Lambasting the Bharatiya Janata Party for allegedly bringing up the issues of NRC, CAA and Uniform Civil Code ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday asserted she would not allow anyone to take away the citizenship of people during her lifetime.
The Trinamool Congress supremo, who reached Khadikul village in this area, 11 days after the blast, also said the incident could have been averted if the state had received proper intelligence inputs.
The 60-year-old father of a chit fund company agent on Monday committed suicide in West Bengal's North 24-Parganas district. He was reportedly distressed over his son's inability to repay money to investors, taking the number of suicides after the Saradha Group bust to eight.
The deep depression over central Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm by Sunday evening and after changing course in a northeastward direction from northwest.
The final round of voting for the Jharkhand Assembly elections is taking place on Wednesday, with the JMM-Congress-RJD coalition seeking to retain power while the BJP-led NDA aims to take control. The election will decide the fate of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, his wife, and several other candidates. Key issues during the campaign included alleged infiltration from Bangladesh, corruption, and Hindutva.
Amidst tight security, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Tuesday filed his nomination from Jadavpur constituency in South 24-Parganas district, which will go to polls on April 27 in the third phase of assembly elections.
Meanwhile, ED officers faced resistance again during the arrest of TMC leader and former Bongaon Municipality chairman Shankar Adhya on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday.
"Fake voter and Aadhaar cards have been seized from his possession. He is being interrogated. We are trying to find out how and when he entered into India," an official said.
The police on Friday claimed to have arrested 'a local Bharatiya Janata Party leader' along with 10 others on charges of running a sex racket in a hotel in West Bengal's Howrah district, while the state's main opposition party denied any association with the accused individuals.
One person died "accidentally" when he had gone out fishing, she said.
While man and a woman were reported killed when trees came crashing down on them in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, a 13-year-old girl died in a similar incident in adjoining Howrah. No casualties have been reported from Odisha yet.
Six persons received gunshot injuries in a clash between Trinamool Congress and Communist Party of India-Marxist workers at Haroa in North 24 Parganas district, while Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee and a senior leader alleged their cars were intercepted by Marxist cadres while going to a rally in adjoining South 24 Parganas district.
Among those killed were eight from TMC, and one worker each of the BJP, the CPI-M, the Congress and the ISF.
The Odisha government has asked all the district collectors to remain prepared for any eventuality, and directed the administration to evacuate people from low-lying areas in the event of heavy rain.
Announcing the first list of candidates, Left Front chairman Biman Bose said that of the 16 names announced, 14 are new, of whom three are women.
Rescue officials confirmed casualties in the incident, claiming to have already recovered 5 bodies from the heap of debris where the cracker manufacturing unit once stood.
The Calcutta high court on Monday directed the police to arrest Trinamool Congress leader Shajahan Sheikh, who has been accused of sexual atrocities and land grab by villagers in Sandeshkhali area, while clarifying there is no stay on it.
A private hospital's alleged refusal to admit some persons injured in a road accident that left six dead in 24 South Parganas district on Tuesday morning enraged locals, who set afire furniture, medical equipment and vehicles leading police to fire in the air to quell the mob.
"The Centre has passed the CAA with the honest intention of granting citizenship to persecuted refugees coming to our country from neighbouring nations," he added.
Seven people, including six of a family, were killed today as torrential rains lashed Kolkata and adjoining districts.
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