Suspended Trinamool Congress MP Kunal Ghosh, who was arrested on November 23 in connection with the Saradha Group chit fund scam, was today granted bail in the first among several cases lodged against him.
The death of a 24-year-old nurse at a private nursing home in West Bengal's Hooghly district has triggered political unrest and allegations of a cover-up. Opposition parties are demanding a fair investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death, alleging foul play and potential sexual assault.
The drama unfolded after Majumdar, a Union minister of state, defied police restrictions and rode a motorbike to Bhabanipur to observe 'Paschimbanga Dibas' (West Bengal Day).
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.'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday attacked Trinamool Congress' arrested Member of Parliament Kunal Ghosh for criticizing her over Saradha chit fund scam, saying his remarks were aimed at "saving" himself.
Suspended Trinamool Congress MP Kunal Ghosh on Monday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was the "biggest beneficiary" in the Saradha ponzi scheme scam and termed her a "coward".
The accused has been arrested on the basis of an FIR lodged by the woman at Haridevpur Police Station, they said.
The violence, which erupted over the setting up of a shop in Maheshtala under Rabindranagar police station in South 24 Parganas district, quickly escalated, turning the area into a virtual battlefield.
A fresh political row has erupted in West Bengal after a person allegedly involved in Bangladesh's August 2024 student protests was found listed as a voter in Kakdwip, triggering sharp Bharatiya Janata Party-Trinamool Congress exchanges over alleged illegal infiltration and manipulation of the voter list in the state.
A city court on Friday remanded suspended Trinamool Congress MP Kunal Ghosh to seven days' judicial custody after he dramatically recused his lawyer from speaking for him and then pleaded for either bail or CBI custody to 'assist' the agency in its Saradha chit fund scam probe.
"It will throw some light on the investigation," he said.
Saradha scam accused Kunal Ghosh on Monday threatened to commit suicide if the CBI did not take proper action against 'those involved' within three days in front of a magistrate when he was produced before a city court.
The couple met during morning walks, and the relationship grew over time.
Each time her little boy wakes up from sleep, his voice trembles with the same haunting questions: "Where is Papa? Did he go somewhere?"
Probing the high-profile Saradha chit fund scam of West Bengal, the serious fraud investigation office on grilled the suspended Trinamool Congress MP Kunal Ghosh for over eight hours here and further questioning is expected next week.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on an official visit to the United Kingdom, took a refreshing jog in London's Hyde Park, wearing a white saree and her signature white slippers. Banerjee also attended a high tea reception at India House, hosted by Vikram K Doraiswami, the High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom, bringing together business, cultural, and political leaders to strengthen ties between Bengal and Britain. The discussions centered around fostering economic partnerships and deepening people-to-people connections.
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.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee could be staring at troubled times ahead as the Saradha scam trail seemingly leads up to her doorstep.
Opposition parties in India have demanded the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw after a stampede at New Delhi railway station killed 18 people. They blamed the government for "gross mismanagement" and accused them of "covering up" the death toll. The stampede occurred on Saturday night as passengers rushed to board trains for the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj. The Congress, the Left, Trinamool Congress, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal have all criticized the government's handling of the situation, while BJP leaders have defended the government. The incident has highlighted the failure of the Railways and the government to make adequate arrangements for the large number of devotees travelling to Prayagraj.
Suspended Trinamool Congress MP and Saradha scam accused Kunal Ghosh on Friday allegedly tried to commit suicide by taking sleeping pills inside the Alipore Central Jail, West Bengal Correctional Home Services Minister H A Swafi said.
On a day when both the West Bengal government and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) moved the Calcutta high court for admission of their appeals seeking capital punishment for RG Kar hospital rape-murder convict Sanjay Roy, a counsel for the victim's parents claimed that the family does not want death penalty for him.
The report, made public on Saturday, claimed the complaints were "ill-motivated."
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has distanced itself from controversial remarks made by its senior leader and West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim regarding the Muslim percentage in the population. Hakim, in a speech, had claimed that Muslims constitute 33 per cent of the population in West Bengal and 17 per cent nationwide, adding that they could become a numerical majority if they empower themselves. The party issued a statement on Monday condemning Hakim's remarks, asserting that they do not reflect its ideology and commitment to communal harmony. The remarks have sparked a political storm, with the opposition BJP accusing Hakim of attempting to stir communal sentiments. Hakim later clarified that his remarks were misinterpreted and that he was advocating for the empowerment of minorities through education and skill development. However, the controversy has caused ripples within the TMC and complicated the party's messaging.
The body of a Bharatiya Janata Party leader was found inside the party office at Usthi in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, a police officer said on Saturday.
Modifying the single bench order, the division bench presided by Justice I P Mukerji directed that Banerjee and Ghosh will be free to make any statement concerning the Governor, not crossing the contours of freedom of speech and expression and public duty.
Firhad Hakim, a senior minister in West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), has defended his remarks on the Muslim population in the state and India, saying he is a diehard secular and patriotic Indian. Hakim's comments, made at a minority students' event, have sparked controversy with the BJP, Congress, and Hindu monks accusing him of promoting communalism and advocating for a Muslim majority. Hakim, however, clarified that his remarks were taken out of context and that he was merely advocating for the empowerment of the Muslim community. He also highlighted the need for greater representation of Muslims in the judiciary.
Recent attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh have ignited political debate in West Bengal, with the ruling TMC and opposition BJP utilizing the issue to advance their respective agendas. While the TMC emphasizes communal harmony and calls for international intervention, the BJP criticizes the TMC's inaction and links the situation to its push for the Citizenship Amendment Act. The issue has also brought other opposition parties into the fray, with all sides highlighting the interconnectedness of the region's socio-political fabric.
Sporadic incidents of unrest marred the West Bengal bypolls, with a local Trinamool Congress worker Ashok Shaw dying following a crude bomb attack in Bhatpara, an area adjoining Naihati assembly constituency where voting was underway.
Eighty-seven days after the body of a woman medic was found at state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, a Kolkata court on Monday framed charges against the prime accused, Sanjay Roy.
In a rerun of the 'Reclaim the Night' campaign, hundreds of women took to the streets in Kolkata and other parts of West Bengal on Sunday night, demanding justice for the alleged rape and murder of a doctor in the state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital.
On the eve of Durga Puja in October 2008, industrialist Ratan Tata announced that Tata Motors would withdraw from the nearly completed Nano car plant in Singur, attributing the decision to Mamata Banerjee's anti-land acquisition movement, which he claimed had derailed what was meant to be a "groundbreaking project" -- the world's cheapest car.
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.
The TMC leader's assertion comes immediately after the Calcutta high court clarified that there is no stay on the arrest of Shajahan.
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.
The Calcutta high court on Tuesday restrained West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and three others from making any defamatory or incorrect statement against Governor C V Ananda Bose.
The CBI, tasked by the Calcutta high court to probe the case, received local court approval to conduct a polygraph test on the accused, days after performing a psychoanalysis test on him.
Sekhar Roy was summoned by the police in connection with a social media post he made over the alleged rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
"I am really disappointed with the way the party is functioning. I am fed up with so many allegations of corruption levelled against the party and the government. I also do not support the way the issue of Sandeshkhali was handled," he said while maintaining that the dual issues of corruption and Sandeshkhali were the primary triggers for his decision to quit.
Sircar, a retired IAS officer, claimed that corruption by a section of leaders of his party and lack of action against them was one of the reasons for his decision.
The Supreme Court on Thursday criticised Kolkata Police for their 'extremely disturbing' delay in registering the case of a woman doctor who was raped and killed at RG Kar Hospital, while also urging the agitating doctors to return to work amid the fourteenth day of disruptions in healthcare services in Bengal's state-run hospitals.
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