The 6 am to 6 pm shutdown call evoked a mixed response as the state government engaged its entire machinery to ensure that normal life remained unaffected.
The incident occurred at the Sonarpur border in South Dinajpur district in West Bengal.
The woman identified as Bharatiya Janata Party supporter Smritikana Das, her mother and other family members were also assaulted by the group, led by panchayat members, at Nandanpur in Gangarampur block, the police said.
Bankura continued to top the maximum temperature chart at 43.7 degrees Celsius, while Panagarh in Paschim Bardhaman district followed closely at 43.5 degrees Celsius, the weather office said.
The Centre has sought a detailed report from the West Bengal government on the circumstances leading to the violence.
Sporadic violence was reported on Thursday in the fifth and last phase of panchayat elections in West Bengal covering four districts of north Bengal with 30 per cent voter turnout reported till noon.
The BJP said all its public meetings will be held in open places following all COVID-19 guidelines and that it will distribute six crore masks and sanitisers in the state.
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.
A total of 1,660 fresh cases have pushed the country's COVID-19 tally to 4,30,18,032, while the number of active cases has fallen below 20,000, according to the ministry's data updated at 8 am.
In view of the continuous dip in coronavirus cases, the home ministry has decided to end its all Covid-19 containment measures from March 31, two years after their implementation following the outbreak of the pandemic.
According to the Minority Morcha's state president, Ali Hossain, around 4.5 lakh people from the community have already joined the saffron party.
The COVID-19 case fatality rate has further declined to 1.52 per cent.
The state declared only 4834 sensitive booths on which only CAPFs are deployed but actually, there were more sensitive polling booths, DIG Guleria said.
Over 86 lakh voters will decide the political fate of 284 candidates in this phase.
From children to soldiers, everyone in India marked the 72nd Independence Day with much vigour and zeal. Here are glimpses of the celebrations from across the nation.
Trinamool Congress on Monday carried out a major organisational reshuffle in the party and inducted several new faces, including some ministers with thrust on toning up the party ahead of next year's crucial panchayat polls.
"This TMC government is anti-people, anti-democratic and have compromised with national security," Adityanath said.
The number of active cases dropped to 14,01,609.
Scattered incidents of violence, including torching of buses and clashes, occurred and 1,600 people were arrested during the 12-hour bandh.
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.
The Trinamool Congress registered a decisive victory in West Bengal on Sunday, contrary to results of most exit polls which predicted a tight race between the BJP and the TMC with an edge to the Mamata Banerjee-led party.
'Want PM Modi to leave election management and start corona management'
It's time for colours, lights and celebrations - Diwali is here! In these photos, see celebrations from Gujarat to London to Colombo.
Sources told Rediff.com that the terrorist captured alive provided information about the absconding terrorists.
Home Secretary L C Goyal said 72 deaths were reported from the four states of Bihar -- 56, Uttar Pradesh -- 12, West Bengal -- 3 and Rajasthan --1.
Banerjee scored a personal point with a massive victory in the bypoll with a record margin of 58,835 votes.
The repolling started at 7 am amid tight security with four central forces personnel deployed in each booth, besides state police. Till 11 am, 10.9 per cent voter turnout was recorded.
Swirling floodwaters have paralysed normal life and marooned over 1.20 crore people.
Among those killed were eight from TMC, and one worker each of the BJP, the CPI-M, the Congress and the ISF.
The TMC, which is yet to fully recover from the 2019 Lok Sabha poll setback, when the BJP's tally soared from two to 18, is apprehensive that the AIMIM may act as "spoiler" in several assembly segments.
'Our civil society here is vibrant, and courageous, although it is beaten up and beaten down, repeatedly.'
Three persons were shot dead and several others were injured as violence and arson marked the conclusion of nomination filing for the three-tier West Bengal panchayat polls slated next month.
'The last three phases, the Trinamool gained more than expected due to Covid mismanagement by the Centre.'
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.
'They are our go-to men, our trouble-shooters.' 'They draw their strength from remaining low-key and accessible only to our workers.'
Over 1.03 crore voters will decide the political fate of 306 candidates in this phase.
Decorated lights decked up buildings and earthen lamps dotted houses as people across the country celebrated Diwali.
The flood situation eased in Assam and northern districts of West Bengal with water receding and no fresh deaths being reported in both the states.
West Bengal on Sunday recorded 79.70 per cent voting in the second phase of assembly polls in 56 constituencies.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, however, termed the autopsy report of the 17-year-old girl, who was the sister of a BJP activist, a 'cover-up' and reiterated its demand for an impartial probe into the incident. The ruling Trinamool Congress accused the BJP of trying to 'make an issue out of a non-issue'.
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