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.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
February 10,2020

New Delhi, Feb 10: A 44-year-old man allegedly killed his daughter and son before ending his life by jumping in front of a Delhi metro train at Haiderpur Badli Mor station on Sunday, police said.

No suicide note has been recovered, but police claimed that the man, Madhur Malani, was depressed since his sandpaper-manufacturing factory was closed some six months ago due to financial crunch leaving him jobless. Madhur's parents had been supporting his family financially since then.

He used to stay with his wife Rupali, daughter Samiksha (14) and six-year-old son Shraiyans at a rented house in northwest Delhi's Shalimar Bagh area, they said.

Rupali was not at home when Madhur strangled their children. He might have also smothered their daughter but the exact cause of death would be ascertained only after the post-mortem reports arrive, a police official said.

After killing his two children, he jumped in front of an approaching train at Haiderpur Badli Mor Metro station following which he was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him 'brought dead', the official said.

Metro services on the Yellow Line were briefly delayed due to the incident.

"Delay in services from Samaypur Badli to GTB Nagar due to a passenger on track at Haiderpur Badli Mor," the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) tweeted.

After about 15 minutes, it again tweeted that normal services have been restored. The Delhi Metro's Yellow Line connects Samaypur Badli in Delhi to HUDA City Centre in Gurgaon.

The suicide was reported to the police around 5.40 pm while the Shalimar Bagh Police station received a call about the killings around 6.50 pm.

On reaching the house, police found bodies of the children lying in beds in two rooms. During enquiry, it was learnt that their father has left the house, a senior police officer said.

While police were trying to trace Madhur, they learnt about a suicide at the metro station. On verifying the details, it surfaced that Madhur committed suicide after killing his children, the officer said.

Rupali told police that she had gone to a nearby market around 3 pm and on returning home she found the bodies of her children while her husband was missing.

A case under relevant sections of the IPC has been registered and investigation was underway, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Vijayanta Arya said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
June 5,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 5: One man has been arrested in connection with the death of a pregnant elephant in Palakkad district here, Kerala Forest Minister K Raju said on Friday.

"One accused identified as Wilson has been arrested in connection with the case. More people are involved. The process to arrest all the accused is underway. Strict action will be taken in the matter to ensure such incidents are not repeated in the future," Raju told reporters here.

The elephant had died in Palakkad district on May 27 after it ate a pineapple stuffed with crackers and forest officials said that it died standing in river Velliyar after it suffered an injury in its lower jaw.

Raju said that the forest department has appointed three teams to probe the matter, and added that police are also investigating the incident as explosives were used.

"There may be some type of crackers inside the fruit. In such cases, blast occurs and the animal can not even drink water. The primary post mortem reports said that this case is like that. Let it be investigated," he said.

"Man and animal conflict is natural in our state as people residing close to the forests. The government gives compensation for farmers, Rs 10 lakhs compensation if a person dies in an animal attack," the Minister added.

The death of the pregnant elephant has sparked a controversy, with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan terming the unfortunate death as "a painful thing" and Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar saying that the Centre has taken a "serious note" of the incident.

According to the preliminary post-mortem report, the immediate cause of the death of the female elephant was drowning followed by inhalation of water leading to lung failure.

The elephant was seen standing in the river with its mouth and trunk in the water for some relief from the pain after the explosive-filled fruit exploded in its mouth.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
July 16,2020

Surat, Jul 16: Woman police constable Sunita Yadav, who had a confrontation with a minister's son over lockdown violation which led to his arrest here in Gujarat, claimed she has resigned from service. However, a senior police official has denied it.

Prakash Kanani, the son of Gujarat Minister of State for Health Kumar Kanani, and his two friends were arrested on Sunday for allegedly violating the lockdown and night curfew orders in Surat, a COVID-19 hotspot, a senior police official earlier said.

Yadav, who is being hailed on social media for taking action against the minister's son, told news channels on Wednesday that she had put in her papers.

"I have resigned because I did not receive support from my superior officers. I was only doing my duty as a constable. It's the fault of our system that these people (like the minister's son) think they are VVIPs (very very important persons)," she said.

However, a senior police official here denied that she has resigned.

"She has not given her resignation. The inquiry is still on and technically she cannot resign at this juncture," Surat Police Commissioner R B Brahmbhatt said.

Yadav's action had led to the registration of an FIR and arrest of Prakash Kanani and two of his friends for alleged violation of lockdown and curfew norms in Surat city.

The arrests came after a video of a heated exchange between them and Yadav, who pulled up the trio for violation of curfew, surfaced on social media. The trio was later released on bail.

Since the incident, Yadav is being hailed on social media.

While some social media users called her "Lady Singham" (referring to the tough cop in the Hindi film "Singham"), some suggested she contest the 2022 state Assembly polls against Kumar Kanani, who represents Varachha constituency in Surat district.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.