Odisha is bracing for heavy rainfall early next week under the impact of a possible cyclone in the Bay of Bengal, which is likely to skirt the state and move towards West Bengal and Bangladesh, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday.
A team of NIA officials earlier this morning arrested two persons in connection with the case and were on their way back to Kolkata, when the vehicle came under attack, they said.
The meteoric rise of Shajahan Sheikh from a modest background of a helper in a local transport company to becoming the so-called 'tiger' of Sandeshkhali is what Bollywood film scripts are made of. And so does his fall.
The sources said Bose briefed Shah about the prevailing situation and his assessment of the polls marred by violence that claimed 15 lives.
Armed with sticks, they set ablaze thatched structures near a fishing yard in Belmajur area of Sandeshkhali, venting their fury against the elusive TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh and his brother Siraj. The torched structure, it was revealed, belonged to Siraj.
The Calcutta high court on Tuesday allowed Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari to visit the restive Sandeshkhali village, while observing that it is surprising that the main accused Shajahan Sheikh has not been arrested by the state police so far.
The TMC released a video, in which a man, claimed to be a BJP mandal president in Sandeshkhali, was heard saying that leader of the opposition in the West Bengal assembly "Suvendu Adhikari is behind the whole conspiracy".
The ruling Trinamool Congress on Thursday hailed the arrest of absconding party leader Shajahan Sheikh, accused of torturing villagers in trouble-torn Sandeshkhali area, and said it was possible only after the court cleared the decks and accused the opposition of exploiting the earlier 'embargo' on his arrest.
Sandeshkhali Block 2, the epicentre of the violent protests triggered by allegations of land encroachment and sexual misconduct involving local TMC leaders, has contributed the largest share of close to 1,000 complaints.
The riverine Sandeshkhali area in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district -- situated on the borders of the Sunderbans, about 100 kilometres from Kolkata -- has been on the boil for more than a month with protests against Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Shahjahan, who is absconding, and his supporters.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is likely to move the Calcutta high court on Wednesday against the West Bengal government for not handing over suspended Trinamool Congress leader Shajahan Sheikh's custody to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a highly placed source said.
Modi, while addressing a rally in Barasat, said whatever happened with women in Sandeshkhali "is a matter of shame".
Neighbours of Lalit were surprised to see his images on news channels, recalling him as a reserved individual who seldom engaged with the community at Burrabazar in Kolkata.
A couple allegedly sold their eight-month-old son in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district to buy an iPhone for making reels, police said on Friday.
The Odisha government has asked all the district collectors to remain prepared for any eventuality, and directed the administration to evacuate people from low-lying areas in the event of heavy rain.
Rescue officials confirmed casualties in the incident, claiming to have already recovered 5 bodies from the heap of debris where the cracker manufacturing unit once stood.
The TMC has won in 34,560 gram panchayat seats, besides leading in 705 seats, according to the SEC as of 11.30 am on Wednesday.
The court directed the CBI to investigate allegations of crimes against women and forcible land grabbing in Sandeshkhali and submit a comprehensive report to it on the next date of hearing.
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a PIL seeking a court-monitored CBI or SIT probe into the violence in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali village, saying the incidents cannot be compared to the savagery in Manipur.
Justice Jay Sengupta directed that the probe will be monitored by it and the SIT will file a progress report of the investigation on February 12, the next date of hearing in the case.
National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah said notifying the rules for the CAA days before the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections shows the Bharatiya Janata Party is not confident about winning 400 seats in the ensuing polls.
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.
Among those killed were eight from TMC, and one worker each of the BJP, the CPI-M, the Congress and the ISF.
'In the interim, India will be confronted with anti-India feeling because Sheikh Hasina had India's support.' 'We will have to deal with it, but it will not be a permanent phenomenon.' 'There is substantial goodwill towards India which will stand us in good stead.'
The Calcutta high court has asked the State Election Commission to explore the possibility of postponing the civic polls to four municipal corporations by four to six weeks in view of a surge in COVID-19 cases in West Bengal.
The police on Friday claimed to have arrested 'a local Bharatiya Janata Party leader' along with 10 others on charges of running a sex racket in a hotel in West Bengal's Howrah district, while the state's main opposition party denied any association with the accused individuals.
Some have been cherry-picked to assert the BJP's supremacy over its allies or, significantly, its leaders who charted an independent course in the recent past.
TMC's Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose submitted a letter to the Election Commission on Thursday.
A team of CBI officials reached CID headquarters Bhawani Bhawan in Kolkata before 4 pm. But the handover from the state agency took place at around 6:48 pm, despite the Calcutta high court setting a deadline of 4.15 pm.
Whether the age-old cry of kendrer banchana will be able to drown out pangs of Sandeshkhali, the EVM will tell.
In a setback to the West Bengal government, the Supreme Court on Monday dismissed its plea challenging a Calcutta high court order transferring to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) the probe into the January 5 attack on an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team in Sandeshkhali, allegedly by supporters of the now suspended TMC local strongman Shahjahan Sheikh.
"The NIA categorically refuted allegations of mala fide in its Bhupatinagar blast case," an agency spokesperson said.
The player, a resident of Barrackpore town in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, allegedly forged documents, like Permanent Resident of Tripura Certificate (PRTC) and Ration Card, to play for Tripura, they said.
The case has been handed over to the state CID from Baguiati police station under Bidhannagar police commissionerate, the official said.
Over 1.03 crore voters will decide the political fate of 306 candidates in this phase.
Bharatiya Janata Party's Sandeshkhali leader Gangadhar Koyal on Friday moved the Calcutta high court, claiming that technology-aided videos mimicking his voice were being circulated in a bid to defame him, and prayed for security be provided to him by central agencies.
Jha, who had been on run since Wednesday when four people breached security protocol inside and outside Parliament, walked inside a police station in the New Delhi district Thursday night and is now being interrogated by a counter intelligence team, the police source said.
Less than a week after miscreants hurled bombs at BJP MP Arjun Singh's residence in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas, similar explosions were reported outside his home on Tuesday morning.
Cyclonic storm Yaas is very likely to make landfall near Balasore in north Odisha with a speed of 155 kmph to 165 kmph, gusting to 185 kmph, around noon on May 26, the Met department said.
The state declared only 4834 sensitive booths on which only CAPFs are deployed but actually, there were more sensitive polling booths, DIG Guleria said.
