La Mart top-ranker found dead in lake

February 11, 2012

la_mart

Kolkata, February 11: A 17-year-old boy, who was among the top-rankers in class and aimed to crack the civil services exams, was found dead in Rabindra Sarovar on Friday morning.

Riju Basak, a Class XI student of La Martiniere for Boys, was missing since the previous evening. At 6pm on Thursday, he made a last call to his mother but did not utter a word. Maybe he only wanted to hear his mother's voice. Police believe Riju, his parents' only child, committed suicide. But what is baffling them is that he didn't have any apparent motive to kill himself. Riju's father Kamal Basak, a businessman, refuses to believe it was a suicide. This is the second time this month that a top-ranking school student in Kolkata has committed suicide. A few days ago, two classmates of Julien Day School jumped off a four-storeyed building in a suicide pact after allegedly being pulled up by the principal for dodging a PT class. The girl died and the boy is battling for life.

Riju - Bubun to friends - was a humanities student at La Martiniere. He had left his home in central Kolkata's Chaitanya Lane for school on Wednesday. After classes, he and two schoolmates went to attend a conference at Max Mueller Bhavan. The trio had been selected for a culture exchange workshop. A vehicle arranged by Max Mueller Bhavan reportedly dropped Riju near Chandni Metro station, less than 1km from his home. But the boy never turned up.

Riju had an excellent aca d e m i c record, was well mannered and very hard working, says his family. Definitely not the type to commit suicide, they insist. "Bubun had called his mother around 6pm. Though his mother kept talking to him, he did not utter a single word. It seems he just wanted to hear his mother's voice," said father Kajal Basak, choking on tears. By the time his mother called him back, his number was 'unavailable'.

The family was concerned when Riju did not turn up but not alarmed. Panic set in when insurance agent Tarun Kumar Mallik, a stranger to the Basaks, called up at 9pm to say the boy's schoolbag, shoes and socks were found lying near Bhabani Cinema in Charu Market, about half a kilometre from Rabindar Sarovar.

"The gentleman called up after finding our phone number from his ID card. We immediately rushed there. We searched desperately for him," said uncle Anup Basak. A missing person's diary was lodged with Bowbazar police.

The family kept trying Riju's phone all night only to find it switched off every time. However, around 8am on Friday, when they dialed Riju's number from the maidservant's phone, his phone rang. There was a moment of hope. "The person on the other end asked who I was. I hurriedly passed the phone to Riju's father. By then, the phone was again switched off," said Anup.

Police zeroed in on the location of Riju's mobile and the family frantically went around the Lake Gardens, Rabindra Sarovar area. Around noon, someone informed them that the police were pulling out a body from the lake. They rushed there, only to find it was Riju. He was wearing his school trousers and had a scarf around his neck. His shirt and tie were missing. There is no trace of the boy's watch and cellphone, says Basak. But a gold bracelet was found intact.

The family claimed that the school and police told them not to inform the media about the missing boy. The school about the missing boy from his parents. "He was a good student and did well in the last examination. He was one among the three students to attend a cultural exchange workshop at Max Muller Bhawan on Wednesday and the organizers dropped him near Chandni Chowk Metro station between 5 and 5.30pm," said Supriya Dhar, secretary to the board of governors, La Martiniere for Boys. "There was definitely no study pressure on the boy," said principal Sunirmal Chakraborty.

Police say this wasn't the first time Riju went missing. He ran away from home last year and was traced to a place in North 24-Parganas.

Riju got admitted to La Martiniere this year after finishing his Class X from Don Bosco School, Park Circus. He spent his spare time writing poems and playing the guitar. He was known to be an introvert. Police suspect he was suffering from depression. "Prima facie, it is a case of suicide," said joint CP (crime) Damayanti Sen. The family refuses to accept this. "My son wanted to become a bureaucrat. And he worked hard for that. All that is gone now," said Basak, who runs a catering business and also trades in precious stones.


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News Network
June 5,2020

Jun 5: A young woman was forced to drink liquor allegedly by her husband after which he along with four friends assaulted, burnt her with cigarette butts and raped her in front of her five year-old son, police said on Friday.

All the five, who were taken into custody earlier, have been arrested. The shocking incident occurred in the state capital last night.

The incident came to light after the 25-year-old woman, approached police and complained against her husband and his four friends.

A case has been registered against the five accused for kidnapping, assaulting and gangrape.

Since the incident took place in front of the child, a case under Protection of children from sexual offices Act has also been charged against the accused.

Meanwhile, State health and family welfare minister K K Shailaja asked the state police chief to take stringentction against the culprits as "such cruelty happened in front of her child."

The Kerala State Women's Commission on its own registered a case and sought report from the Thiruvananthapuram Rural SP.

She managed to escape from there and pleaded for help from a young man, who saw in heran inebriatedstate, and took her to her house and informed police.

The man later told some television channels that she was crying, had injuries on her face and pleaded for help.

Police have recorded the statement of the woman, who was admitted to a government hospital here and later discharged.

She had also stated that the men had tortured her using cigarette butts.

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Agencies
April 11,2020

Hyderabad, Apr 11: With the Telangana government banning spitting in public places in the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic, a police case has been registered here against a man for violating the rule.

During vehicle-checking on Friday, police found the man spitting on the road here and registered a case against him for disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant, police said.

Spitting in public places and institutions has been banned in the state in view of the pandemic with the government saying such acts pose a serious threat of leading to spread of infections.

"In the interest of public health and safety, the spitting of paan/any chewable tobacco or non-tobacco product, sputum in public places & institutions is hereby BANNED with immediate effect," a gvernment notification said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore the importance of hygiene and cleanliness in both personal as well as public spheres, the April 6 notification issued by the Health, Medical and Family Welfare department said.

"It is of utmost need to impose restrictions on unhealthy practices that may potentially lead to spread of such viruses and other infections," it said.

The habit of public spitting poses a serious threat of leading to spread of such infections, the notification added.

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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.

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