A 37-year-old burglar who allegedly built a Rs three crore bungalow for his girlfriend using the robbed money was arrested in Bengaluru. Panchakshari Swamy, who hails from Solapur in Maharashtra, was married and has children but he was a womaniser and spent the robbed money lavishly on women. He allegedly committed thefts in many parts of the country over the past two decades. Swamy has been arrested in a case of theft of gold and silver ornaments worth Rs 14 lakh from a house at Maruti Nagar in Bengaluru that occurred on January 9. His involvement in the theft was revealed with the help of footage from more than 200 CCTV cameras. With his arrest, the police have seized gold biscuits of 181 g, silver ornaments of 33 g, and a firearm from him. Swamy started burglaries in 2003 when he was a minor and by 2009 he had become professional at it gaining wealth worth crores through thefts, burglaries and robberies and it was in 2014-15, he started dating an actress and spent lavishly on her by building a Rs three crore house for her in Kolkata. He also allegedly gifted her an aquarium worth Rs 22 lakh, he said, adding he also had links with some other actresses. Police said that he mostly operated alone and kept a watch over empty houses so that he could target them easily and after committing the theft, he would change clothes to avoid suspicion.
How to conduct the mock exercise with active public participation of people was discussed threadbare at a high-level meeting chaired by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan. Top civil and police officers of the country participated in the meeting, official sources said.
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.
The ruling Trinamool Congress claimed that the strike call exposed the BJP's game plan to foment disturbances in the state exploiting people's pain over the alleged rape and murder of a woman doctor.
Roads around the 19th century iconic Howrah Station resembled a battleground on Tuesday, with brickbats aimed at police personnel flying thick and fast, and drenched protesters hit by water cannons limping to the safety of nearby alleyways and shops.
A gas cylinder blast in a house at Dholahat in West Bengal's Pathar Pratima has claimed eight lives, including four children. The explosion, which occurred on Monday night, triggered a massive fire, intensified by the presence of stacked firecrackers inside the house. The incident has sparked a political controversy, with the BJP demanding a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe and the TMC maintaining that the police are already investigating and that the state government has a "zero-tolerance " policy towards such incidents. The blast has also raised concerns about the safety of illegal firecracker manufacturing units, which have been linked to several recent accidents in the state.
His threat was heard in a video clip that has gone viral. However, the authenticity of the video could not independently verify.
India conducted nationwide civil defence mock drills simulating multiple hostile scenarios like air raids, fire emergencies, and rescue operations across several states and union territories. The drills, dubbed 'Operation Abhyaas,' aimed to enhance emergency preparedness in light of recent terror attacks. The exercises involved coordinated efforts by various agencies, including civil defence personnel, police, fire and emergency services, and the military. Mock drills were conducted at various locations, including railway stations, malls, and high-rise buildings, showcasing the response capabilities of authorities in different emergency scenarios. The drills highlighted the importance of public awareness and cooperation in dealing with real-time emergencies.
Notice for ticket holders ahead of Durand Cup semis Kolkata
Three of the junior doctors who were observing 'fast unto death' in Kolkata and Siliguri city in the northern part of the state have so far been hospitalised after their condition deteriorated.
In a joint statement, they noted that while the incident highlights the prevailing "apathy, misgovernance and lack of accountability" in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, the state government's "apparent inclination" to shield perpetrators rather than protect victims is a "grave miscarriage of justice".
A man who was detained in Chhattisgarh's Durg railway station in connection with the January 16 Saif Ali Khan attack case was released on Sunday. Mumbai police earlier arrested a 30-year-old man from Thane near the metropolis in the case. The man detained from the Mumbai LTT-Kolkata Shalimar Jnaneshwari Express at Durg station on Saturday afternoon was just a suspect and he has been released after inquiry. Mumbai police said it had arrested alleged attacker Mohammad Shariful Islam Shehzad, a Bangladeshi national who had illegally entered India and changed his name to Bijoy Das. As per preliminary probe, he had entered the Bollywood star's home, in Satguru Sharan building in Bandra, in the early hours of January 16 with the intention of theft, police said in the metropolis. Khan (54) was stabbed multiple times in the attack, after which he underwent a five-hour surgery in nearby Lilavati Hospital.
Families of two West Bengal women killed in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela have alleged that they were handed over the bodies without death certificates. They received only a piece of paper mentioning that the body was given to them. The victims, Basanti Poddar and Urmila Bhuniya, were killed in the pre-dawn stampede on January 29. A senior West Bengal minister alleged that "total mismanagement" prevailed in the Maha Kumbh Mela.
The Kolkata Police has booked actor Paresh Rawal under different sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on a complaint filed by Communist Party of India-Marxist state secretary Md Salim, who alleged that he delivered 'hate speech' against the Bengali community during an election rally of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat.
The decision followed a petition by former deputy superintendent of the medical establishment, Akhtar Ali, who sought an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into alleged financial misconduct during the tenure of the college's former principal, Sandip Ghosh.
Stating that the police had "reliable inputs" that Anwar "may have been murdered", Akhilesh Chaturvedi, IG, CID, said that the police were yet to recover the victim's body.
Tuhin Mondal, the content creator, was arrested from his house in Bapujinagar in Taherpur police station area.
CAB requested ICC recce team about concerns raised by local security agencies with regards to World Cup match between Pakistan and England on November 12 coinciding with Kali Puja.
Ending the logjam persisting for 42 days in the wake of the rape and murder of a young doctor at RG Kar hospital, the agitating medics withdrew the 'cease work' after holding a march to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) office in Salt Lake in Kolkata from the state health department's headquarters, where they had been demonstrating for over a week.
Kolkata Knight Riders' home IPL match against Rajasthan Royals on April 17 is set to be rescheduled after the local police expressed its inability to provide adequate security due to Ram Navami celebrations on that day, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has informed the BCCI.
Around 200 people belonging to the Sikh community staged a demonstration in front of the Bharatiya Janata Party office in Kolkata on Wednesday, expressing solidarity with an Indian Police Service officer who had alleged that West Bengal party leader Suvendu Adhikari labeled him as a 'Khalistani'.
West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Friday filed a defamation case against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the Calcutta high court, a day after she said that women complained to her saying that they were afraid to visit the Raj Bhavan because of the activities there, a source said.
'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'
Ghosh was asked to specify his role after getting the news of the death of the doctor, who he had contacted and why he made the parents wait for nearly three hours, he said.
'When we get justice we will stop the protest.'
A woman in West Bengal's Howrah district allegedly convinced her husband to sell his kidney for Rs 10 lakh to pay for their daughter's education. After the surgery, she fled with another man, taking the entire amount of money with her.
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".
Holi was celebrated with pomp and splendor across India on Friday, with people soaking in the festivities by smearing 'gulaal' on each other and exchanging greetings and sweets. Homes and streets wore a colourful look as the revellers splashed colours and feasted on traditional delicacies. Public transport did not ply in the morning in most major cities while metro services started functioning from noon. As Holi coincided with the second Friday prayers during the holy Islamic month of Ramzan, security -- including increased patrolling and picketing -- was beefed up in several states. In Delhi, more than 25,000 security personnel were deployed. Police closely monitored about 300 sensitive areas with CCTV cameras and drones.
Agitating junior doctors in West Bengal resumed their indefinite 'total cease work' on Tuesday to press for various demands, including ensuring their safety and security at all medical establishments.
A delegation of the National Commission for Women (NCW), led by its chairman Vijaya Rahatkar, met with riot-affected women in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, assuring them of safety and demanding an NIA probe into the recent communal clashes. The women narrated their harrowing experiences and demanded permanent BSF camps in select areas of the district. The NCW team also visited relief camps in Malda district and assessed the condition of women affected by the violence.
In the backdrop of a woman employee of Raj Bhavan levelling molestation charges against him, West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Thursday showed CCTV footage of the premises of May 2 to common people.
A group of around 130 Dalit families in West Bengal's Purba Bardhaman district have been facing discrimination for centuries, being denied access to a local temple. The families, belonging to the traditional community of cobblers and weavers, have been ostracized and face economic hardship due to this caste-based practice. Despite recent attempts by the administration to resolve the issue, the situation remains tense and the families are left with few options.
R G Kar Medical College's former principal Sandip Ghosh was found to be 'deceptive' while answering important questions on the rape and murder of a trainee woman postgraduate doctor during his polygraph test and layered voice analysis, officials said.
Heavy rains packed with gusty winds lashed Odisha and parts of southern West Bengal as the landfall process of the severe cyclonic storm Dana was complete on Friday morning with no loss of life.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Sougata Roy has demanded the removal of Kalyan Banerjee as the party's chief whip in the Lok Sabha after a spat with fellow MP Mahua Moitra. Roy accused Banerjee of "uncivilised" behaviour on multiple occasions and cited incidents of Banerjee breaking a bottle and throwing it at the chairman of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) meeting and making inappropriate remarks about Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. The spat between Moitra and Banerjee reportedly occurred on April 4 when a TMC delegation met the Election Commission over duplicate voter ID numbers. Banerjee was tasked with collecting signatures from TMC MPs on a memorandum to be submitted to the Election Commission, and Moitra alleged that she was not included in the signatories, leading to a heated exchange. Roy, who was present at the time, said he saw Moitra crying and complaining about Banerjee's behaviour. Roy believes that Banerjee's actions warrant his removal as chief whip and left the decision to Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee. The incident has also been highlighted in leaked WhatsApp messages, where Banerjee engaged in heated exchanges with another TMC MP, Kirti Azad, leading to further accusations of uncivilised behaviour.
Although no fresh arrests were reported in the case, the Central Bureau of Investigation continued with its questioning of top officials of the RG Kar Hospital.
A man who was detained in Durg in Chhattisgarh as a suspect in the January 16 Saif Ali Khan attack case said on Sunday that his life is in complete disarray following police action, leaving him without a job, a snub from his prospective bride and family facing ignominy.
A 31-year-old woman from Kuwait who had arrived in India for treatment and went missing from Kolkata last month has been spotted in neighbouring Bangladesh this week, a police officer said in Kolkata on Thursday.
The number of cyberfraud cases has skyrocketed from 2,677 in 1999-2000 to 29,082 in FY24 -- more than a 10-fold increase. The RBI pegs digital payment frauds at Rs 1,457 crore in FY24, up more than five times in a year. It's not just the number of frauds. What's alarming is the growing sophistication of the fraudsters, exposing the vulnerabilities within the financial system, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Following a meeting with the medics, she claimed that talks were "fruitful" and nearly "99 percent of their demands have been accepted", Banerjee said.
