Suspected Maoists have killed four political party workers separately in the Jhargram sub-division of West Midnapore district, police said on Friday.
Maoists blew up a building housing the office of a farmers' organisation and set afire a community hall in Jhargram sub-division of West Midnapore district early on Friday.
Security forces on Wednesday apprehended four suspected Naxalites from a village in West Midnapore and recovered a weapon from them.According to sources, the troops of Central Reserve Police Force nabbed the four from Jaamthor village of the district after a search operation.Two of them have been identified as Manoranjan Mahato and Sudarshan Mahto.All four have been handed over to the police and a country made pistol has been recovered from them.
After getting a tip-off that a group of 22 Maoists had taken shelter in Ranja forest near Duli village in the Salboni police station area, the joint forces -- comprising Central Reserve Police Force, Border Security Force, COBRA and the state police -- raided the area, West Midnapore District Magistrate N S Nigam said.
Humayun Kabir, recently suspended from the TMC, has launched a new political party, Janata Unnayan Party, and announced candidates for the 2026 assembly elections.
"Kisenji is hiding in the district and is injured. His associate Bikash and woman leader Tara are hiding along with him," Midnapore SP Manoj Verma told PTI.
Twenty-three persons have died in flash floods in East and West Midnapore districts of West Bengal during the past two days, officials said. West Midnapore District Magistrate N S Nigam said 15 persons died in his district. All 15 deaths were reported from Sabang, Pingla and Narayangarh. Of these, Narayangarh alone accounted for 11 deaths.
The central government has provided armed security to West Bengal's Chief Electoral Officer following potential threats related to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
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.
With the disease now virtually knocking at Kolkata's doors after spreading in Howrah, Rehman told PTI that poultry products from the affected areas would not be allowed to enter the city. The fear has aggravated since the spread to South 24 Parganas, part of which form the city's suburbs, and Kolkata Municipal Corporation has formed eight teams to monitor the situation in the city.
Hearings under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls were underway in West Bengal, focusing on 'unmapped' voters who are unable to establish linkage with the 2002 electoral roll. Many people are being asked to prove their citizenship.
Seven more deaths were reported on Friday from interior villages of the flood-hit East and West Midnapore districts, raising the toll to 53, even as the situation further improved.
'The biggest game changer has been the belief among Maoists that they can surrender and join the mainstream'
A MIG 27 aircraft crashed at Duria village in West Midnapore district of West Bengal, 40 kilometers from Kalaikunda airbase, early on Friday morning, District Magistrate N S Nigam told PTI.
The flood situation on Thursday further worsened in West Midnapore district of West Bengal where about 16 lakh people were affected while 15 deaths have been reported in the past two days. District Magistrate N S Nigam said all 15 deaths were reported from Sabang, Pingla and Narayangarh. Of these, Narayangarh alone accounted for 11 deaths.
Top Maoist leader Ranjan Munda, who carried out subversive activities in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa, and another squad leader were arrested by the joint forces from West Midnapore district on Friday, police said.
West Bengal: Flood situation improves, alert still on
A directional landmine blast took place at Baroa, 17 km from Salboni, from where the West Bengal CM, Paswan, state industry minister Nirupam Sen and industrialist Sajjan Jindal were returning after laying the foundation stone of Jindal Steel Works plant, police said.
The Central Reserve Police Force and the police have seized a huge cache of arms from Maoist hideouts during a search operation in West Bengal's West Midnapore District.
After a meeting with Buddhadeb, Indrani -- the wife of officer-in-charge of Sankrail police station, Atindranath Dutta -- said they had conveyed to the chief minister Maoist leader Kishenji's demand that the women arrested by joint forces in West Midnapore district be released immediately.
Prime accused in the Jnaneswari Express train sabotage Asit Mahato, who was carrying a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head, was arrested on Sunday from Gorneta village in West Midnapore district of West Bengal.
Rifles, guns and ammunition were seized from a Communist Party of India- Marxist party office, a health centre and other places in West Midnapore district on Tuesday, while the hand of a Trinamool Congress worker was chopped off allegedly by a CPI-M worker in Malda district.
Suspected Maoists shot dead a local Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader in Jhargram area of West Midnapore district on Monday, the police said.
In a surprise attack by the Maoists, four security personnel were killed and their arms looted in Jhargram sub-division of Naxal affected West Midnapore district on Sunday.
The Army was called out on Wednesday to assist the administration in West Midnapore district where the flood situation remained grim affecting 1.5 lakh people.
The death toll in the Gyaneshwari Express derailment in West Midnapore district on Saturday rose to 104 after more bodies were extricated from the wrecked coaches of the Mumbai-bound train.
A group of about 20-25 rebels started firing at the camp, under Belpahari police station, around 9 pm.
Nine persons have lost their lives in the recent floods in five districts of West Bengal, state disaster management department sources said on Thursday.
A controversy erupted in West Bengal after a history question paper at the state-run Vidyasagar University described Indian revolutionaries as 'terrorists,' triggering strong political reactions and forcing the institute to issue a public apology, calling it a 'printing mistake.'
A woman self-styled Maoist commander on Friday surrendered before the police in West Midnapore district alleging sexual exploitation by ultra leaders.
In another embarrassment to the ruling Community Party of India-Marxist after the February 21 Netai massacre, joint forces have arrested nine persons, all suspected supporters of the party. They have also seized a cache of arms and ammunition at a village in Salboni in West Midnapore district.
Arrested Maoist-backed tribal leader Chhatradhar Mahato has been charged with sedition and booked under various sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for raising funds for a terrorist outfit and attempting to murder police personnel.
The first group of securitymen arrived at Lalgarh police station, which had been cut off by the tribals since November last year, with the police saying that it was a 'partial victory'.
Adhikari, a former Trinamool Congress minister and MLA, quit all posts and had switched over to the saffron camp last week.
At least 120 passengers are feared killed and 150 injured after suspected Maoists blasted rail tracks in West Midnapore district early on Friday, derailing 13 coaches of a Mumbai-bound express train, five of which were hit by a speeding goods train.
Three Maoists and a civilian were among those killed when the ultras attacked the Eastern Frontier Rifle camp in West Midnapore district leaving 24 jawans dead, police said on Tuesday.
At least 120 passengers were feared killed and Hundred passengers were killed and 160 injured after suspected Maoists derailed 13 coaches of Mumbai-bound Gyaneshwari Express leading to a collision with a goods train in West Midnapore district early on Friday.
Bengal police officer Atindranath Dutta, who was released unharmed after being kidnapped by the Maoists last month, faces disciplinary action for not joining work.
Complying with the Election Commission's order, the West Bengal government on Wednesday removed seven officials from their existing posts and replaced them with different officials as desired by the poll panel.
Tight security measures were in place in view of the exercise, with the police putting up barricades on roads leading to the Air Force station.
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