Page 18 - West Bengal

EC will decide SIR of electoral rolls in Bengal: WB chief electoral officer

Stating that the decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls lies solely with the Election Commission, West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal on Friday said training of booth-level officers (BLOs) and supervisors will ensure preparedness if the process is initiated. He said training of the BLOs was an ongoing process, and a similar session would be held in Kolkata on Saturday and in the other districts in the following days. "The EC has decided to train the officers. Earlier, there was no such training. The poll panel has an institute, IIIDEM, where people have been trained to make them understand the work, their statutory functions," Agarwal said. According to sources, the CEO held a virtual conference with the BLOs on Friday. The IAS officer said the training would help if the SIR of electoral rolls was initiated in Bengal. "If SIR takes place, the training will equip BLOs to carry out their responsibilities effectively. However

Centre calls death penalty clause in Aparajita Bill 'excessively harsh'

The Bill proposes enhancement of punishment for rape from the existing minimum of 10 years under the BNS to life imprisonment for the remainder of one's life or death

West Bengal Police starts helpline for migrant workers in other states

The West Bengal Police on Friday launched a WhatsApp helpline, 9147727666, to provide assistance to migrant workers facing problems in other states. The helpline was launched after several complaints were received that people from the state were encountering a range of problems, from workplace exploitation to unsafe living conditions, while working in other states, a police officer said. "In many cases, the victims or their families do not know where or how to report such incidents. To bridge this gap, the state police are urging affected individuals or their family members to promptly inform their local police station or district control room," he said. "The WhatsApp-only helpline is also launched for the purpose, so that families can send messages detailing the nature of the problems, along with the victim's name and address," he said. The officer said all messages will be verified, and we will coordinate with the state authorities concerned to take necessary action. This initia

Kolkata law college gangrape: Police conduct gait analysis on four accused

Police have conducted gait recognition analysis on the four accused persons arrested in the Kasba gangrape case involving a student inside the South Calcutta Law College premises, a senior officer said on Thursday. The analysis was initiated on Wednesday inside the correctional home where the four Monojit Mishra, Pramit Mukherjee, Zaib Ahmed and security guard Pinaki Banerjee are lodged. A local court had granted permission for the exercise on Tuesday. "The test is basically observing and analysing their walking pattern. The findings will be compared with CCTV footage and other video evidence recovered from the college premises on that day. This is to prove their presence at the spot when the crime took place," the officer explained. Investigators also received the forensic analysis reports of the mobile phones seized from the accused, he added. "The reports could play a crucial role in our investigation as these devices were allegedly used to record the crime that took place .

Staffers at border seek Bengal CM intervention to lift ban on jute imports

An organisation of clearing agents' staffers at Petrapole border checkpost has written a letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, seeking her intervention to lift the Centre's ban on imports of jute products and garments from Bangladesh via land routes. The Petrapole Clearing Agents' Staff Welfare Association claimed that the trade flow at the border checkpost in North 24 Parganas district has been affected due to the restriction. It highlighted how the ban has disrupted trade flows and impacted the livelihoods of thousands who depend on the transactions via the critical India-Bangladesh integrated checkpost. "Import trade volumes have plummeted sharply after the restrictions were imposed. The number of import trucks and rakes handled at Petrapole fell to 1,654 in June, down from 3,886 in May 2025," association secretary Kartick Chakraborty told PTI. Unlike the current trends, the peak monthly figure was 4,900 in 2023, while average volumes typically remain above 3,500

Will send BJP to detention camps post 2026 assembly polls: TMC's Abhishek

TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday tore into the BJP, branding it a 'Bangla-Birodhi' party, alleging that it wants to send Bengalis to detention camps. He also claimed that after the 2026 Bengal Assembly polls, it is the BJP that will be electorally "sent to detention camps and wiped out" from the state. The BJP wants to take Bengalis to detention camps. I want to tell them clearly after the 2026 elections, it is you whom we will send to the detention camps, the TMC national general secretary said, addressing TMC's Martyrs' Day rally. Claiming that the BJP is a Bangla-Birodhi party (anti-Bengal party), Banerjee alleged that it has consistently targeted Bengalis for speaking their mother tongue. Just because we speak Bengali, we are being targeted. Why doesn't the BJP take action against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for his continuous attacks on the Bengali language? It shows their true colours, he asked. Banerjee said that if required, TMC MPs would speak in Benga

PM accuses TMC of shielding culprits of RG Kar doctor rape-murder case

PM Narendra Modi said in his Durgapur speech that the 'daughters in West Bengal' are facing injustice under the rule of the TMC government

PM to visit Bengal amid migrant row, launch ₹5K cr projects, address rally

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit West Bengal on Friday afternoon to address a BJP rally in Durgapur and unveil infrastructure projects worth Rs 5,000 crore. The visit comes in a politically charged backdrop marked by TMC's outcry over alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking migrants in several BJP-ruled states. This will be Modi's first visit to the state after Samik Bhattacharya was appointed the new Bengal BJP president earlier this month. "West Bengal is suffering due to TMC misrule. People are seeing the BJP with hope and are convinced that only the BJP can deliver on development. Tomorrow, 18th July, will be addressing a @BJP4Bengal rally in Durgapur. Do join!" the PM posted on X on Thursday night. With West Bengal slated to go to the polls next year, the PM's visit is being seen as a high-voltage political manoeuvre by the BJP to consolidate its position in the state. It comes just days before Trinamool Congress supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's annual Marty

Over 500K apply for 35,726 teacher posts in Bengal, says WBSSC chief

Over 5 lakh candidates have so far applied for 35,726 assistant teacher posts in state-run and state-aided schools in West Bengal, a senior official said on Thursday. An online application portal was launched on June 16 to facilitate the process, with the original July 14 deadline getting extended to July 21. The number of applicants is 5 lakh-plus already. We are expecting the figure to go up," Chairman of the West Bengal School Service Commission Siddhartha Majumdar told PTI. On May 30, the WBSSC had issued a notification for recruitment of 35,726 assistant teachers in Classes 9-12 in state-aided and state-run schools, in adherence to a Supreme Court directive. The top court had asked the state government to file a compliance affidavit on the initiation of the recruitment process on or before May 31. In April, the Supreme Court had scrapped the entire 2016 State Level Selection Test (SLST) recruitment panel, and annulled 25,753 appointments of teachers of Classes 9-12 as well as

West Bengal protest, Jio Black Rock gets Sebi’s approval, Israel's strike on Syria & more

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led a protest in Kolkata against the alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking people in BJP-ruled states.

HC asks Centre to place litigation papers about Delhi HC deportations

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed the Centre to place before it all records regarding litigations before the Delhi HC over the deportation of a few persons found to be illegally residing in the national capital. The court also verbally asked the central government's lawyer to "ascertain" whether there is any truth in the allegation that Bengali-speaking people were being questioned over their nationality in different places in the country after the West Bengal government's counsel raised the issue. However, no order was issued by the court on this matter. A division bench, presided by Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty, took up two habeas corpus petitions, alleging illegal detention of some people from West Bengal. The court directed the Centre to file an affidavit with regard to the petitioners' averment that they were already deported and that the issue was being litigated before the Delhi High Court. A habeas corpus petition is a legal remedy seeking direction to produce

Mamata to lead protest on harassment of Bengali speakers in other states

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will lead a protest march in Kolkata on Wednesday over alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking people in BJP-ruled states. The march will begin at College Square around 1 pm and conclude at Dharmatala in the heart of the city. Senior leaders of the party, including TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, will join the march. With less than a year left for the assembly elections in West Bengal, the TMC is raising its pitch over what it alleges is a systematic pattern of linguistic profiling, unlawful detentions, and attempts to brand Bengali speakers as "illegal immigrants". "This is not a routine political event," state minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said. "This is a battle to defend Bengal's honour, language and identity. If someone calls a Bengali a Bangladeshi, we will not take it lying down," she said. The TMC usually refrains from holding major public events in the run-up to its annual Shahid Dibas rally on July 21. But th

India offers help to restore Satyajit Ray's ancestral home in Bangladesh

The Indian government has offered to help restore the noted filmmaker's ancestral home in Mymensingh, Bangladesh, urging its preservation as a cultural landmark instead of being demolished

Mamata blames DVC water release for Bengal floods, cites Centre's neglect

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee blames DVC for repeated floods due to excess water release and accuses the Centre of neglecting Bengal's flood management and relief needs

WBJEE result 2025: West Bengal Joint Entrance Exam result to be out soon

The WBJEE (West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination) 2025 was held on April 27, 2025. The WBJEE 2025 result announcement date has not yet been made official but is likely to be out soon

SC urges self-regulation, stresses value of free speech on social media

The Supreme Court on Monday said citizens must know the value of freedom of speech and expression and observe self regulation as it mulled guidelines to regulate offensive posts on social media. A bench comprising Justices B V Nagarathna and K V Viswanathan was hearing a plea of one Wazahat Khan booked in FIRs in several states, including West Bengal, for his objectionable posts on X against a Hindu deity. On June 23, the top court granted him interim protection from coercive action till July 14. Khan had filed a complaint against another social media influencer Sharmistha Panoli for allegedly making communal remarks in a video. Offensive comments should not be made in response to similar posts, his lawyer said in court. The citizens must know the value of the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression. The State can step in case of violations Nobody wants the State to step in (sic), Justice Nagarathna said. The judge continued, All this divisive tendency on social med

Back to the future? Investment has remained a hurdle for West Bengal

Mr Chandrasekaran and Ms Banerjee reportedly discussed private-public partnerships in the context of economic growth in the state

Security cordon around Bengal secretariat as eligible teachers plan protest

Tight security arrangements have been made around West Bengal state secretariat 'Nabanna' in Howrah on Monday as "eligible teachers", whose jobs were annulled following a Supreme Court order, planned a protest march demanding their reinstatement, a senior police officer said. Although the route march of the 'Joggya Sikkhak Sikkhika Adhikar Mancha' (Deserving Teachers' Rights Forum) has not been finalised yet, Howrah City Police deployed senior officers at crucial junctions to maintain law and order, with a specific focus on major entry points to Nabanna. "We are focused on preventing any major disruption to daily life and keeping the situation under control. To stop any such attempt, iron barricades have been placed at four strategic locations in Howrah to halt the protesters from advancing toward the state secretariat," the officer said. Towering metal barriers have been erected at Bangabashi Crossing on GT Road, Ramkrishnapur Ghat Gate on Foreshore Road, Kazipara Crossing, and ...

7-year-old among 3 dead as heavy rain floods parts of Ghatal in West Bengal

Six Gram Panchayats of Ghatal block and 13 wards of Ghatal municipality have been inundated, affecting the lives of several people in the region

After Singur, a new chapter unfolds in Tata Group-West Bengal saga

A meeting between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekaran has rekindled hopes of fresh investments by the group in the state that goes to polls next year