The Centre has assured the West Bengal government that it would not withdraw the 1,700 personnel of central security forces from the three Maoist-hit districts of West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia, even though assembly elections in adjoining Jharkhand is round the corner.
Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa said the IAF is "always cautious and alert" to check any untoward aerial movement on the border.
The beheaded body of a school teacher, kidnapped by Maoists, was found near Goaltore in the restive West Midnapore district on Tuesday, police sources said.The teacher, Satya Kinkar Hansda, of Sirisboni village, had been threatened earlier by the ultras for being the member of a rival organisation. He was picked up by an armed cadre on Monday night and his decapitated body was found in a nearby jungle today morning, sources said.
One hundred and thirty-three candidates will try their luck from the constituencies falling under the districts of West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura.
Normal life was affected for the second day on Tuesday in West Bengal's Maoist-infested districts of West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura during the 48-hour bandh called by the ultras in five states to protest the offensive by security forces against Naxalites in Lalgarh.
The BJP could win only 16 out of 57 seats where Shah campaigned.
Presenting our latest in the series of #India-Photos!
With these states imposing lockdowns anew, the health ministry emphasised that the restrictions should be utilised to focus on containment, surveillance and testing in the containment and buffer zones as the key strategy for early detection of cases and fatality management.
Suspected armed Maoists on Wednesday looted over Rs 84 lakh from a branch of the Punjab National Bank in Purulia. Superintendent of Police Ashok Kumar Prasad said eight motorcycle-borne miscreants came to the bank. While two of them stood guard outside, the others entered the bank situated in the heart of the town.
Three railway staff and RPF personnel were asked to leave the station building at gunpoint before the Maoists burnt down the station building.
Delhi's power circles can expect a surprise when a not-so-known officer is appointed to head the CBI.
Suspected Maoists killed a local Communist Party of India-Maoist leader after raiding his house at Barabazar, about 50 km from Purulia, early on Thursday morning and fled towards the Jharkhand border, a senior police official said.
Personal and healthcare major Emami group on Tuesday announced setting up of a bio-diesel plant at Haldia, the first in West Bengal, with an investment of Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.5 billion).
The bypolls for four seats were conducted on September 16.
The Anil Ambani group firm is the sole bidder for the engineering, procurement and construction contract for DVC's proposed 1,000 MW thermal power plant at Raghunathpur in Purulia district of West Bengal.
In the wake of growing interest by large industrial groups in West Bengal, the state government has embarked on a plan to revive a number of small airports in the state apart from developing a new airport in Kolkata with private participation.
The Jindal group has not given any commitment to the West Bengal government on giving equity or employment to people who provide land for a 10-million tonne steel plant it is setting up at Salboni
Please, let us not be scared of multinational corporations
Results of the panchayat polls indicated a paradigm shift in state politics with the baton of main opposition party passing from the Left to the BJP.
'It did not start as a Hindutva slogan.' 'It started to tease the TMC and slowly it got internalised and the BJP started countering with Jai Shri Ram slogans because Mamata was getting provoked.'
The Holi weekend is just a month away and if you haven't planned ahead, we'll help you out.
Mamata announced that over Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) would be invested in developing the Aerotropolis project which, she felt, would ultimately change the industrial scenario in the region comprising Burdwan, Birbhum, Bankura and Purulia distracts.
Eyewitnesses said the bus skidded off the road when the driver was trying to save a motor-cyclist.
The Briton had allegedly assaulted fellow convict Kamal Routh in Presidency Jail in Kolkata about a year back.
A case pending with the Mumbai customs on Saturday stalled the release of Peter Bleach, who is serving a life sentence at the Alipore Central Jail in Kolkata for his role in the sensational Purulia armsdrop.
The polling for the sixth phase on May 12 covers 6 states and one Union Territory.
The chief minister, speaking at her first major political rally after the Lok Sabha polls, also said the party will launch a statewide protest on July 26, demanding return of black money "siphoned off" by the BJP.
The owner of a rural chit fund firm, active in two south Bengal districts, died on Thursday in Hooghly district taking the ponzi scheme fiasco deaths in the state to 14.
Mamata Banerjee painted a bright future for industry in Durgapur.
Wearing multiple identities of religious preacher, science student and terror accused, the saffron robed Aseemanand, once known as the most wanted man in India, was the alleged link between the series of three bombings that ripped through India in 2007.
Hundreds of migrant workers from Delhi, Haryana and even Punjab reached Anand Vihar, Ghazipur and Ghaziabad's Lal Kuan area after taking arduous treks of many kilometers on foot to take buses to their respective native places
Eleven persons were injured in a clash between the Trinamool Congress and Congress party workers at Sabong in West Midnapore district as the first phase of panchayat polls began on Thursday in West Bengal. In another incident, senior Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Surya Kanto Mishra was involved in an altercation with local Trinamool Congress supporters outside a polling booth at Khadurdah gram panchayat area in West Midnapore district.
There is a "high probability" of political leaders coming under a Chhatisgarh-type attack during their panchayat poll campaign in Maoist-hit Jangalmahal in West Bengal, intelligence sources here have indicated.
The elections in this phase are seen as a big test for the Bharatiya Janata Party
BJP chief Amit Shah had set a target of winning 22 Lok Sabha seats out of 42 seats in West Bengal.
The MeT department warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall in Gangetic West Bengal till Saturday, ahead of Durga Puja festivities.
Referring to state BJP president Dilip Ghosh's allegation that its workers were provoked by the police, he said, "They had carried arms. Is it then a provocation if the police took action? Action will be taken if there is any violation of law."
This is the first time in many years that the BJP has been elected to the gram panchayat level in every district of the state.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances