Sheikh, main accused of sexual abuse and land grabbing in Sandeshkhali, was arrested early Thursday from a house in Bamanpukur, after being absconding for 55 days.
The protest by the SC/ST women should be seen as a radical arrival of the periphery to the mainstream. However, they are yet to shake the conscience of privileged urban bhadralok spaces.
Senior police officers & RAF personnel have secured Basirhat district court where Shahjahan is being kept. Police also investigating charges of sexual assault against him & his aides.
Group of former judge, bureaucrats & journos was slated to visit Sandeshkhali to also probe alleged incidents of TMC leaders grabbing residents’ land to convert into fish farm.
Complainants told a three-member NCST team, led by its Vice-Chairperson Ananta Nayak, that the West Bengal Police allegedly 'protected' Shahjahan and his accomplices.
Latest case is of land grab. After he disappeared early January, local residents have accused Shahjahan and his aides of seizing their land and even sexual assault.
Perhaps an arrest could take place before PM Modi lands in Bengal, which would certainly take much wind out of his sails. The one-man show cannot afford that and risk a 2021 redux.
Mamata Banerjee hasn’t demonstrated empathy and urgency in dealing with the allegations and is accusing BJP of politicising the issue. BJP, too, is more interested in cornering TMC.
Countering insurgency needs the Pakistan Army to demonstrate a political will that ties leaders at the centre with those in the borderlands. But it may not have the imagination.
Centre for Science and Environment in new report makes case for rationalising GST on waste material, saying most informal operators can’t afford high tax & it also hinders recycling.
21st edition of annual joint military exercise will be held from 1 to 16 September, aimed at sharing military tech, operational best practices & disaster relief coordination methods.
Standing up to America is usually not a personal risk for a leader in India. Any suggestions of foreign pressure unites India behind who they see as leading them in that fight.
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