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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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.

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News Network
January 19,2020

Belagavi, Jan 19: Miscreants have murdered a couple and their son at Dodwad Village, about 50 km from here, in the wee hours on Sunday.

The victims were identified as Shvananda Basavanthappa Andanashetty, his wife Shanthavva and their son Vinod.

Senior Police officials visited the spot and a case was registered at Dodwad Police Station.

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News Network
June 25,2020

Jun 25: A 16-year-old girl allegedly committed suicide at her house in east Delhi and her family members secretly buried her body, which was later exhumed for post-mortem, police said on Wednesday.

The girl, whose family hails from Jharkhand, allegedly hanged herself in a room in her house on Monday, they said.

No suicide note was recovered from the spot, police said.

Her body was exhumed on Tuesday as per the directions of the Sub Divisional Magistrate of the area. The process was carried out as her family members secretly buried her without informing the police.

The post-mortem will be conducted after Covid-19 tests, police said.

The incident took place on Monday. The reason behind her taking the extreme step is yet to be ascertained, they said.

Police said the girl lived with her mother and two siblings. The family hails from Jharkhand and are financially extremely weak. Her father died two years ago, they said.

After the father’s death, the girl's mother along with her siblings took her body to a burial ground and buried her, police said.

The police said the matter came to their notice after a neighbour alerted them about it. Following the information the body was exhumed, they said.

On questioning the girl's mother, she told police that she didn't know that one has to inform police in a suicide case, a senior police officer said.

Inquest proceedings have been initiated, police said.

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