Miscreants who put cockroach into Indira Canteen food caught on CCTV cam

Kolkata, Feb 2: A protester at Park Circus, known as Shaheen Bagh of Kolkata, died last night after she fell ill during her agitation against CAA, NRC and NPR.

The woman has been identified as Sameeda Khatun (57) who was a resident of Entally area of the city. According to protesters, Khatun who was asthmatic patient died after suffering a cardiac arrest. She is survived by husband and eight children.

Around 250 women from Kolkata have been holding a peaceful sit-in at Park Circus Maidan since January 7 to protest against CAA, NRC and NPR and demanding the withdrawal of the new citizenship law.

Research Scholar at Rabindra Bharati University, Nousheen Baba Khan who has been spearheading the Park Circus protest since the beginning, told the newspaper, “Sameeda Khatun was a regular face at the protest and she was not well as she had asthma.

Last evening she came to me complaining that she is having trouble in breathing. We immediately took her to Chittaranjan Hospital where doctors said she had suffered a cardiac arrest. We later took her to Islamia Hospital where doctors declared her brought dead,” said Khan.

New Delhi, Feb 7: The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the Central government on a plea challenging the Constitutional validity of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and effective implementation of the Assam Accord.

A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde also sought Centre's response on the plea filed by Assam Social Justice Forum.

The petition sought appropriate directions for taking effective steps for the implementation of Assam Accord, 1985 in letter and spirit and for conservation and preservation of the of a distinct culture, heritage and traditions of the indigenous people of Assam.

The Assam Accord, 1985, had fixed March 24, 1971, as the cut-off date for deportation of all illegal immigrants irrespective of their religion.

The Bench also sought Centre's response on another fresh batch of pleas challenging CAA and tagged them along with other petitions pending in the matter.

One of the petitions, filed by the Association of Advocates from Maharashtra among others, sought to declare the Citizenship Amendment Act as discriminatory, arbitrary, and illegal and consequently set aside the impugned act as ultra-vires the Constitution of India.

On the other hand, over a hundred petitions have been filed in the apex court, for and against the amended citizenship law, which is facing opposition and protests across the country.

CAA grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who fled religious persecution in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan and took refuge in India on or before December 31, 2014.

Udupi, Jan 9: State Revenue Minister R Ashoka said on Wednesday that the state government is embarking on a novel method to ensure that social security schemes were available to the beneficiaries at their doorsteps.

Speaking after inaugurating the Mini Vidhana Soudha here, he said government will look into the Aadhaar number and income certificates to decide the eligibility of the beneficiaries. The initiative will help the poor to access welfare schemes without any hassles.

The initiative will be launched as a pilot project in Udupi district. Later, the project will extend to other districts in a phased manner. In Udupi district, 30,000 beneficiaries have been identified. The government has set aside nearly Rs 7,000 crore for social security schemes. The initiative will not only eliminate middlemen menace but will help the government save Rs 1,000 crore.