Two dead in clash over construction of Power Grid sub-station

January 18, 2017

Kolkata, Jan 18: Two persons were killed in the Bhangor area of South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal on Tuesday as clashes broke out between the police and villagers opposing construction of a Power Grid sub- station in the area.

protestVillagers, who blocked roads and damaged several police vehicles, claimed that police had opened fire on the protesters while police said the firing took place between two groups of protesters in which the casualty took place.

When asked about reports of police firing in the area, Sharma said "There has been no police firing. The police didn't fire a single shot. The work of the Power Grid station has already stopped. The person was declared dead on arrival at the hospital and the other person is undergoing treatment."

The West Bengal government has declared that the project has been stopped.

According to a highly-placed source at the state Secretariat Nabanna, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today asked the police to exercise restraint and refrain from opening fire in Bhangor.

In a tweet, Banerjee had earlier in the day said "No land will be acquired if people don't want to give away land. Proposed power grid will be relocated if required." Her party later on removed the tweet and said it should be ignored.

A senior police officer said the police were attacked by the villagers and a few of them were injured by stones and bricks thrown at them.

To bring the situation under control, police resorted to bursting tear gas shells and lathicharge, he said.

Villagers on the other hand alleged that the police resorted to unprovoked lathicharge, teargassing and firing.

State Power minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay said "Police did not retaliate, but only chased away the villagers when stones and bricks were thrown at them."

"There was no reason for the protests as the state government has already halted the project following protests by the people. I had invited them (farmers and villagers) several times for a meeting, but they kept on refusing.

"The state government has stopped the project as per their demand. Still they are creating problems in the area. I do not see any logic behind this... I have doubts about their real intention," Chattopadhyay said.

"If the sub-station was set up, everyone would have got electricity, whether they belonged to TMC, CPI(M), Congress or BJP," he added.

Local MLA and state Food Processing and Horticulture minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah rushed to the area following instructions from the Chief Minister.

On Banerjee's instruction, forces from Kolkata Police and other commissionerates have been asked to rush to the place to maintain law and order, the secretariat source said.

The Chief Minister also directed the Police to nab around 30-40 "outsiders", who could be Maoists and backed by a section of Jadavpur University students, responsible for instigating the villagers and farmers in Bhangor for such violent protests, he said.

Police were posted at neighbouring Machhi Bhanga and Tona last night following demonstrations by villagers protesting the setting up of the substation by Power Grid Corporation of India Limited.

The incident has also kicked off a political storm with the opposition CPI(M) and BJP condemning the incident.

"Then in opposition, it was the TMC which had opposed Nandigram and Singur. But, now they themselves are using brute force to acquire land. We condemn this. The police action and atrocity in Bhangor should immediately stop," CPI(M) Politburo member Mohammed Salim said.

BJP too condemned the police action and said it should immediately stop.

"Police action should immediately stop there. Why is the state government so intolerant and arrogant that it can't talk to the locals? We will visit the place soon," BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha said.

Reacting to the allegations, senior TMC leader and state Parliamentary Affairs minister Partha Chatterjee said political parties should not fish in troubled waters.

"They should not equate Nandigram with this incident. In Nandigram CPI(M) went for forcible land acquisition, but our policy is not forcible land acquisition. Work has already stopped, so why are they protesting," Chatterjee said.

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News Network
February 16,2020

Gorakhpur, Feb 16: Two unidentified policemen allegedly raped a 20-year-old woman in a hotel room near a railway station in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur.

The incident took place on Thursday after which the woman informed her family members. The FIR was registered in the matter on Friday, police said.

A case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including gang rape has been registered against two unidentified police men at the Gorakhnath police station, they said.

No arrests have been made so far in this connection, the police added.

Members of various political parties including Congress, Samajwadi Party, BSP and Purvanchal Sena staged a sit-in demonstration at the office of the district magistrate (DM) demanding suspension of all staff members of the Gorakhnath police station as well as a magisterial probe into the matter.

"The girl is undergoing treatment at the district hospital. She has made serious allegation of rape by two policemen. During investigation we found that the hotel has CCTV footage and also took the statement of guard," SSP Gorakhpur, Sunil Kumar Gupta said.

"Prima facie, the woman went to the hotel room willingly with some men. However, a probe is underway and culprits won't be spared," he said.

The woman told media that both the policemen thrashed her and accused her of being involved in prostitution.

She claimed that she requested them to leave her but they beat her and raped her. Later, they asked her to go home in an autorickshaw.

The survivor also told media and investigating policemen that she will be able to identify the hotel room where the crime took place as well as the two policemen who allegedly raped her.

The woman said she runs coaching classes at her home and her father is a labourer.

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Agencies
June 7,2020

Lucknow, Jun 7: From Anamika Shukla to Anamika Singh and finally Priya. The primary school teacher who was found to be teaching simultaneously in 25 schools, not only has multiple jobs but also multiple identities.

Anamika was arrested on Saturday from Kasganj district when she went to submit her resignation after she was served a show cause notice by the Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA), Anjali Agarwal.

Agarwal informed the police and Anamika was arrested.

According to the Kasganj BSA, Anamika Shukla, originally a resident of Kaimganj in Farukhabad is currently doing her B.Ed from the Raghukul Degree College in Gonda. Her other documents are also from the same college.

During interrogation, Anamika Shukla said that she was actually Anamika Singh but as questioning proceeded, it turned out that she was Priya from Farrukhabad.

She has been booked for cheating and forgery under IPC sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will etc.) and 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating).

According to the police, the woman claimed that she had paid Rs five lakh to a Mainpuri-based man to get this job.

She used Anamika Shukla's credentials to get the job while her real name is Priya, daughter of Mahipal, a resident of the Lakhanpur village of the Kayamganj police circle in Farrukhabad district.

Soron station house officer (SHO) Ripudaman Singh said, "During interrogation, the accused initially claimed to be Anamika Singh, daughter of Subhas Singh. However, her documents are in the name of Anamika Shukla, daughter of Subhas Chandra Shukla."

The accused claimed that she paid the hefty amount to Raj, a Mainpuri-based man for the job and was posted in Faridpur Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) since August 2018.

The police are now trying to zero in on the man who got her the job.

The police also believe that it could be possible that multiple candidates used credentials and 'eligibility' of Anamika Shukla - the real one still remains elusive.

According to the Uttar Pradesh government, five more Anamika Shuklas have been found working in KGBVs in Ambedkar Nagar, Baghpat, Aligarh, Saharanpur and Prayagraj districts. She has reportedly drawn a combined salary of Rs one crore in the past one year.

Teachers in KGBV, a residential setup for girls from weaker sections of the society, are appointed on contract and are paid approximately Rs 30,000 per month. Each block in a district has one Kasturba Gandhi school.

Basic Education Minister Satish Dwivedi said that the incident was 'shocking' and the police would unravel the entire racket in the case. "No officer, employee who connived with this teacher in providing her job at KGBV and subsequently hiding it, will be spared," he said.

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Agencies
February 11,2020

Mumbai, Feb 11: A 65-year-old woman was allegedly killed by her husband over debt and illness in suburban Powai here, police said on Tuesday.

The incident came to light when Sheela Ajit Lad was found dead by her neighbours at Sukh Shanti Co-operative Society at around 9.30 pm on Monday, an official said.

The victim was allegedly killed by her husband Ajit Lad, who hit her on the head with a heavy object, slit her wrists and strangled her to death, he said.

The accused absconded at around 7.30 pm, leaving a note at the crime scene, saying he was going to commit suicide and had killed his wife because he was heavily in debt and she was suffering from an ailment, the official said.

The childless couple lived alone in the apartment, he added.

"On the basis of the note, we have registered a case of murder against Ajit Lad and have launched a manhunt for him. We have not traced him or found his body as he had mentioned suicide in the note," deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Zone X Ankit Goyal said.

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