Page 25 - West Bengal

'Nothing for Bengal' in Union Budget , says TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee

Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday claimed that the Union Budget 2025-26 has "nothing" for West Bengal, alleging that the state continues to remain "deprived" under the BJP-led NDA rule at the Centre. Banerjee, the TMC national general secretary, who was talking to reporters in Delhi after the budget presentation in Parliament, said several announcements were made for Bihar as the assembly elections there are due later this year. Bihar remained in focus in the presentation of the Union Budget for the 2025-26 fiscal with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman making several announcements for the state, including setting up of a makhana board, financial assistance for western Kosi canal and support for enhancing the capacity of IIT Patna. "There has been nothing for Bengal in the Union Budget. As in the past during the BJP's reign, there has not been enough allocation for the state in this budget. Our (TMC) MPs have been vocal and have sought a rise in the allocation

WB's professor's video of wedding in class goes viral, probe ordered

Viral videos of a senior female professor getting "married" to a student in the classroom at a state-run university in West Bengal triggered a furore, following which an inquiry was ordered on Wednesday, officials said. The professor, however, claimed that it was a drama that was part of her class. The incident happened at the Psychology Department of the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology (MAKAUT) at Haringhata in Nadia district, they said. The videos showed the professor, who was dressed like a bride, and a first-year student performing various rituals of a Hindu Bengali wedding, including 'sindoor daan' and 'mala bodol', in the classroom. As the videos went viral, triggering criticism and outrage, the varsity formed a three-member inquiry panel and sought clarification from the professor, officials said. The professor told the varsity authorities that it was a psycho-drama demonstration, which was part of her class, and not real, they said. The videos were taken

WB govt sanction to prosecute RG Kar's ex-principal received: CBI tells HC

The CBI on Tuesday informed the Calcutta High Court that it has received sanction from the West Bengal government to prosecute RG Kar Medical College and Hospital's former principal Sandip Ghosh in an alleged financial irregularities case. The single bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh directed the special court before which the matter is being heard to make all endeavour for framing of charges within one week from the next date of hearing before it. He directed the special court to take into account the list of the witnesses and accordingly fix the schedule, so that the trial of the case can be expedited and taken to its logical conclusion at the earliest. During the hearing, the CBI's counsel informed Justice Ghosh that the central agency, probing the alleged financial irregularities at the state-run hospital in Kolkata during the tenure of Sandip Ghosh, has received sanction from the state government for prosecution of him and another former official. A report was submitted before

Saif Ali Khan stabbing case: Mumbai police questions woman in West Bengal

A Mumbai Police team on Monday questioned a woman in West Bengal's Nadia district in connection with the January 16 attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan, a source said. Police, however, clarified that no arrests were made in relation to the incident. Makwana Meetkumar Sanjaykumar, Additional Superintendent of Police (HQ) for Krishnanagar Police District, confirmed, "No arrests were made in Nadia related to the attack." An investigation into the attack on the actor revealed that the SIM card used by Bangladeshi national Shariful Fakir, arrested earlier in Mumbai for the assault, was registered in the name of a woman from West Bengal, police sources said. The woman denied knowing the accused and claimed that she had lost the mobile phone containing the SIM several years ago in Kolkata, they added. A two-member team of Mumbai Police, which arrived in West Bengal on Sunday, was looking for one Khukhumoni Jahangir Sheikh, under whose name the SIM card was registered. Investigators

RG Kar case: HC reserves judgement on admission of appeals by WB govt, CBI

The Calcutta High Court on Monday reserved its judgement on the admission of two separate appeals, one by the West Bengal government and the other by the CBI, challenging a trial court order which sentenced RG Kar hospital rape-murder convict Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment till death. The court's division bench, presided by Justice Debangsu Basak, heard both the state government and the CBI, who argued that the January 20 order of the Sealdah sessions court sentencing Roy, the sole convict in the crime, to life imprisonment till death was inadequate. Both the CBI and the state government separately prayed for capital punishment for the convict. The CBI claimed before the bench that only it has the right to move an appeal before the high court on grounds of inadequacy of sentence since it was the investigation and prosecution agency of the case. The state government argued that apart from the central agency, it too can move an appeal claiming inadequacy of sentence given by the tri

WB school jobs row: SC to hear pleas against invalidation of jobs on Monday

The Supreme Court is slated to hear on Monday a batch of pleas challenging a Calcutta High Court verdict that has invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff in government and aided schools in West Bengal. According to the cause list for the day uploaded on the apex court's website, a bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar is scheduled to hear the matter. On January 15, several petitioners argued that the high court verdict nullifying the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff in government and aided schools in West Bengal has adversely impacted the lives and livelihoods of untainted candidates. The CJI acknowledged the arguments and reiterated the need for a balance between addressing illegalities and protecting untainted appointees. He said segregation of cases, wherever possible, may be prioritised to protect innocent candidates. A total of 124 petitions, including one filed by the state government, challenging the

R G Kar victim's parents being used by those who conspire against govt: TMC

Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh on Saturday alleged that the parents of the R G Kar hospital victim are being "used" by the forces which want to "defame, malign and plot conspiracy against the Mamata Banerjee government". His comment comes a day after the parents of the deceased doctor at the R G Kar hospital said that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee cannot disown the responsibility for the alleged attempt of the police and hospital authorities to destroy evidence of rape and murder of their daughter. They attempted to shield the main conspirators behind the crime, while the CBI failed to bring to book all the perpetrators and overlooked the larger conspiracy aspect, the parents claimed on Friday. Ghosh alleged, "The parents of the deceased doctor are being used by forces which want to defame, malign and plot conspiracy against the Mamata Banerjee government and derail the process to ensure justice for the woman medic. Please don't let yourself be used by any ...

RG Kar case: Legal experts back life sentence, oppose death penalty

Amid the raging debate over a Kolkata court sentencing R G Kar hospital rape-murder convict Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment till death, legal luminaries are unequivocal in their stand against awarding capital punishment to anyone. The Sealdah sessions court had on January 20 held Roy guilty of the rape and murder of an on-duty medic at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, and sentenced him to life imprisonment till the end of his natural life. Holding that death penalty is undemocratic and irreversible, former Supreme Court judge Ashok Ganguly said such a punishment should, therefore, not be continued in a free, democratic country. Asserting that the demand for capital punishment to Roy is not just, he said in more than 150 countries across the world, there is no death penalty. He said that in Europe, there is no country where death penalty is allowed, and in America, too, there are various states where capital punishment is not awarded. "We always cry for death pena

Evidence destroyed, CM can't disown responsibility: RG Kar victim's parents

The parents of the R G Kar hospital victim have said that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee cannot disown the responsibility for the alleged attempt of the police and hospital authorities to destroy evidence of rape and murder of their daughter. They attempted to shield the main conspirators behind the crime, while the CBI failed to bring to book all the perpetrators and overlooked the larger conspiracy aspect, the parents claimed. The ruling Trinamool Congress has termed the allegations unfortunate. "Everyone - Kolkata Police, the hospital administration and people's representatives from the TMC - played an active role to hush up the ghastly incident so that truth does not come to light, the deceased medic's mother told a Bengali TV channel on Friday. The body of the 31-year-old post-graduate trainee was found in a semi-naked state in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9 last year. The trial court on January 20 sentenced Sanjay Roy, the lone

Odisha fiscally healthiest; Punjab, AP, WB laggards: NITI Aayog report

Serious concern on debt sustainability in West Bengal, Punjab, says report

Bank Holidays 2025: Are banks open or closed today, Jan 23, in your state?

Bank holidays in India vary by region. This Thursday, all public and private banking institutions will be closed in observance of Parakram Diwas and Vir Surendra Sai Jayanti

CBI challenges Bengal's plea seeking death penalty for RG Kar rape convict

The CBI has challenged West Bengal government's plea seeking death penalty for convict Sanjoy Roy in RG Kar case, citing Supreme Court ruling on appeals in CBI-probed cases

RG Kar case: HC to hear medic's family, CBI before admission of WB's appeal

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday said it would hear the CBI, the victim's family and the convict before deciding on the admission of an appeal filed by the West Bengal government claiming inadequacy of sentence given by a trial court in the RG Kar hospital rape-murder case. The high court said it will hear the matter on Monday. The CBI opposed the state's right to file an appeal in the case, claiming that it was the prosecuting agency and had the right to prefer the appeal on the grounds of inadequacy of the sentence. The Sealdah court on Monday sentenced Roy to life imprisonment till death for the rape and murder of an on-duty doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. A division bench, presided by Justice Debangshu Basak, said that it would hear the CBI, the family of the victim and the convict through their lawyers before deciding on the admission of the state government's appeal.

RG Kar case: HC allows govt to file appeal against 'life term' order

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday granted permission to the West Bengal government to file an appeal against the Sealdah court order that sentenced Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment until death in the RG Kar hospital doctor's rape and murder case. Advocate General Kishor Datta moved a division bench presided by Justice Debangsu Basak to file the appeal to seek death penalty of Roy, the sole convict in the case. The state government sought the high court's permission to file the appeal challenging the order passed by Additional District and Sessions Judge in Sealdah, Anirban Das, on Monday. The Sealdah court sentenced Roy to life imprisonment until death after he was convicted of raping and murdering the on-duty doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, rejecting demands for the death penalty saying it was not a "rarest of the rare" crime. The court also ordered Roy to pay a Rs 50,000 fine and directed the state government to pay compensation of Rs 17 lakh to the

'Investigation by CBI is totally worthless', says doctor at RG Kar Hospital

Dr Tapan Pramanik a doctor at the RG Kar Medical Hospital said that there were multiple people involved in the RG Kar rape and murder case

Court to announce sentence for RG Kar doctor's rape-murder convict today

A court in Kolkata will on Monday afternoon pronounce the quantum of punishment of Sanjay Roy, who has been convicted of raping and murdering an on-duty doctor at the state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital here. The charges under which Roy has been convicted entail a minimum sentence of life imprisonment, while the maximum can be capital punishment. The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Anirban Das in Sealdah had on Saturday declared Roy guilty of rape and murder of the postgraduate trainee at the hospital on August 9 last year. The gruesome crime had led to nationwide outrage and prolonged protests. Roy, a former civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, was arrested on August 10, a day after the 31-year-old medic's body was found in the seminar room of the hospital. Found guilty of sexually assaulting the doctor and throttling her to death, Roy was convicted by the judge under Sections 64, 66 and 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Section 64 (rape

Agri research needs big boost, has to be more focused, say experts

Studies show that agri research has the highest RoI among farm-linked activities. Will ICAR get more funds in the Budget?

RG Kar rape-murder convict's mother says he deserves rightful punishment

The mother of Sanjoy Roy, who was convicted for the rape and murder of the medic of R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, on Sunday said if her son is guilty then he should get the punishment he deserves, even if it means hanging. She said she will "cry alone" but will accept his punishment as destiny. Initially reticent to speak to the media after the Sealdah court convicted Sanjay on January 18, Malati Roy the mother of Sanjay told reporters on Sunday morning that being a woman, and a mother of three daughters, "I can feel the anguish and pain of the mother of the woman medic who is like my daughter." "If the court decides to hang him to death, I don't have any objection as his crime has been proved in the eye of the law, I will cry alone but accept it as a quirk of fate, something willed by destiny," the 70-year-old-woman said standing on the doorstep of her shanty on Shambhunath Pandit Street, about 5 km away from the commotion and buzz at Sealdah Court the other day. Asked if

Probe incomplete, many still free: RG Kar victim's parents ahead of verdict

A day before a court in Kolkata is set to deliver its verdict in the RG Kar hospital rape-murder case, the parents of the victim doctor alleged that the investigation is half-done as others involved in the crime are roaming free. Her parents said they will continue to fight until justice is delivered to their daughter whose body was found in the seminar room of the state-run hospital on August 9 last year, sparking nationwide outrage and prolonged protests. Sanjay Roy, who was a civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, was charged with committing the crime and was arrested on August 10. Additional district and sessions judge of Sealdah court, where the trial of the case concluded on January 9, is scheduled to pass its judgement on Saturday. "Sanjay (Roy) is guilty, and tomorrow's verdict will be against him. But what about other criminals who are still not caught? I can see them roaming freely. I have seen them loitering in the hospital. So, the investigation is half-done," she told

ITA submits white paper on Darjeeling tea to WB govt, highlights challenges

Senior officials from the association met West Bengal's labour minister Moloy Ghatak on Tuesday and handed over the white paper