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Briefly
Fire in AJC Bose
Road apartment
Kolkata: A fire broke out at
a residential-cum-commercial
complex at AJC Bose
Road on Sunday morning.
Three fire tenders rushed to
Jayati Apartments at 227/2,
AJC Bose Road and the fire
was brought under control
in 20 minutes. — BP
Maoist ‘kidnapped’
by police
Kolkata: The state secretary
of the CPI(Maoist), Kanchan
alleged that police had ‘kidnapped’
their state committee
member Dwijen
Hembram from his house at
Belpahari in West
Midnapore. Police denied
the allegation. Family members
of Dwijen Hembram
said he was missing since
November 10. — BP
Miscreants injure
promoter
Kolkata: Sahodeb Dey, a
promoter from North 24-
Parganas was attacked by six
miscreants when he was on
his way to a fast food centre
he owns. The miscreants
opened fired at him and
assaulted him before local
residents came to his rescue.
Five miscreants fled the spot
while one of them, Dilip
Das, 32, was nabbed. Dey’s
condition is critical as he
suffered a bullet injury.
Police have started investiagations.
— BP
Congress-TMC
clash in Canning
Kolkata: At least eight persons
were injured on
Sunday in a clash between
supporters of the Congress
and Trinamool Congress
over setting up a tea stall
near Joynagar police station.
The police said they clashed
with sticks and one person
was critically injured. He
was later shifted to Kolkata,
police said. The Congress
has called 12-hour Joynagar
bandh on Monday to protest
the incident. — PTI
‘Come clean on
Rajarhat issue’
Kolkata: Two major ruling
Left Front partners, the RSP
and Forward Bloc, have said
the West Bengal government
must come clean on
the land controversy at
Rajharhat, a fast growing
township on the outskirts of
the metropolis conceived
during the chief ministership
of Jyoti Basu.
"We should steer clear of the
controversy. It should be
transparent how land was
acquired at Rajarhat from
the mid-1990s and whether
force was applied and at
what price the land was
acquired and sold," said RSP
leader and state PWD minister
Kshiti Goswami on the
allegation by the Trinamool
Congress that the government
bought land at a
throwaway price and sold it
at a premium. — PTI
Minister injured in
road accident
Kolkata: Minister of state
for information and broadcasting,
C M Jatua was
injured in a road accident
when a SUV hit his vehicle
near Amtala crossing in
South 24-Parganas on
Sunday. He was returning
from a meeting at Kakdwip.
Police detained the driver of
Tata Sumo for interrogation
and the car was seized. He
suffered injuries on his head
and waist He was discharged
after first aid. His
driver, security guard and
personal secretary were also
injured. He later went to the
airport to catch a flight for
Delhi. — BP
Kolkata pilgrim
dies in J&K
Jammu/Kolkata: A pilgrim
on his way to the
Vaishnodevi shrine died of a
heart attack in the district of
Reasi in Jammu and Kashmir
on Sunday. Hanuman
Prasad, 52, a resident of
Kolkata, suffered a massive
cardiac arrest at Ardh
Kuwari area on his way to
the cave shrine, police officials
said. The man was
rushed to a hospital in Katra,
where he was declared
brought dead by the doctors,
sources said. — PTI
United move to save
state’s largest wetland
Our Correspondent
Dankuni: Local NGOs, clubs
and residents, cutting
across party lines, have
joined hands in a bid to save
West Bengal’s largest wetland,
located along the
Howrah-Hooghly border.
They took part in a people’s
convention on Sunday at
Rajchandrapur in Howrah
to chalk out their future
course of action.
“There is nearly 70 sq. km
of scattered wetland along
the border of the two districts.
At one point, all these
were parts of one water
body. But constant land filling
and illegal acquisition
over the years has divided
and scattered the body. The
time has come when we
must stop further filling of
the wetland at any cost,”
said Tapan Dutta, secretary
of the Jalabhoomi Banchao
Committee (JBC).
The primary objective of
Rail union blames officials for
motorman’s untimely death
Sujit Nath
Kolkata: State intelligence
agencies have issued an
alert on the India-Nepal
border to prevent the entry
of Nepal casino king Rakesh
Wadhwa.
Wadhwa, originally from
Barrackpore in North 24-
Parganas, is the owner of
five casinos, including one
in Kyrgyzstan. At present, he
is in hiding following a massive
manhunt launched by
the Kathmandu Police for
evading taxes to the tune of
`20 crore.
Speaking to The Bengal
Post over telephone,
Kathmandu superintendent
of police (SP), Vijay Kumar
Bhatt said: “We have alerted
all the agencies in India,
including a message alert to
the West Bengal Police. We
have also sought help from
Interpol to track his movements
and to try to find his
whereabouts.”
the convention was to create
a network of seven
NGOs and forums which
have so long been working
individually to save wetlands
in their respective
localities. The larger goal
would be to build a movement
on the lines with the
stir started in 1990s to save
the East Kolkata Wetland
along the EM Bypass.
“It will be great if the
wetland gets listed among
the Ramsar sites. It will help
us fight to save the wetland,”
said Shantanu
Chakraborty, a member of
‘Disha’, an NGO which has
been fighting to save wetlands
for years. A similar
movement had been initiated
to save 12,500 hectares
of the East Kolkata Wetland
which was facing a threat
from rapid urbanisation and
real estate ventures. On
August 19, 2002, the wetland
was designated a ‘wetland
of international impor-
SAVE THE NATURE VENTURE
� Local residents, NGOs
and clubs participated
in a people’s convention
on Sunday in a bid to
save the state’s largest
wetland which is
located along the
Howrah-Hooghly border
� The convention took
place at Rajchandrapur
in Howrah to chalk out
future action on the
movement
Our Correspondent
Kolkata: A day after Indian
Railways motorman D N
Moitra died in harness, railway
unions alleged that the
failure of the authorities to
provide emergency medical
support was responsible for
his untimely demise. The
divisional railway manager
(DRM), Kharagpur, however,
claimed that the
unfortunate incident happened
in spite of all necessary
support.
On Saturday, Moitra was
in charge of the P3 Howrah-
Panskura EMU local train.
Once it reached Panskura at
around 7.35 am, he felt
unwell. He was taken to a
nursing home where doctors
pronounced him dead.
“There was no railway doctor
at Panskura but there
are health units in
Santraganchi and Mecheda.
It is surprising that no effort
was made to get a doctor
� The wetland of nearly
70 sq. km has been scattered
by constant
process of land filling
and illegal acquisition
� The Jalabhoomi
Banchao Committee
(JBC) has vowed to stop
filling of the wetland
� Some quarters have
demanded inclusion of
the wetland in the
Ramsar sites list to
make their effort easy
SERIOUS CHARGES
� A railway union said
the dead motorman, D
N Moitra, did not get
proper treatment
� It accused that the
DRM, Kharagpur, did
not turn up on time to
save Moitra’s life
� The union has
demanded `10 lakh as
compensation for the
victim’s family
� Railway authorities
rubbished negligence
on their behalf causing
Moitra’s death
from Mecheda which is
very close by,” alleged N B
Dutta, joint general secretary
of the All India Loco
Running Staff Association
(AILRSA). The guard of each
train has a first-aid box but
it is not enough for emergencies.
The nursing home
where he was initially taken
did not have any doctor and
Rakesh owns the Nepal
Recreation Centre (NRC)
which operates five casinos
in Kathmandu, including
‘Casino Nepal’ in Hotel
Soaltee, ‘Casino Shangrila’,
‘Casino Everest’ in Hotel
Everest, ‘Casino Tara’ at the
Hyatt and Casino Anna.
“He has not paid nearly
`20 crore in royalties to the
Nepal government. He also
violated rules against run-
The Bengal Post Kolkata Monday November 29, 2010
CITY
tance’ under the Ramsar
Convention.
“Our problem is similar.
Several real estate projects
on the 70 sq. km wetland
have fragmented it. We
have to follow the 1990s
movement,” said Kunal
Thakur of the Hind
Motor Jalabhoomi Bachao
Committee. The only constructive
step taken till date
was the filing of a PIL in the
Calcutta High Court to stop
acquisition of 2,200 acres of
wetland lying between
Jagdishpur and Dankuni
railway stations. Apart from
the real estate development
project, three other projects
initiated by the railways
were to be developed on
this wetland.
“Although the court has
issued a stay order, constructions
are on in full
swing. With so many people
coming together, we are
hopeful of putting up a
tough fight,” said Dutta.
—Subhrajit Chandra
� A similar movement
was started to save
12,500 hectares of the
East Kolkata Wetland,
which was endangered
by rapid urbanisation
� A PIL was filed in the
Calcutta High Court to
put a halt on acquisition
of 2,200 acres of
wetland lying between
Jagdishpur and
Dankuni railway
stations
while on the way to the
next nursing home, he
died,” Dutta said.
The union has alleged
that the DRM, when alerted,
failed to take action in time
which might have saved
Moitra’s life. However,
DRM, Kharagpur, Anil
Kumar Handa, refuted the
claims. “Our officers had
reached in time and he died
by 9.35 am due to a possible
cardiac arrest. There is no
question of his death being
caused by any delay in
treatment. His body has
been sent for postmortem,”
Handa said.
The union has demanded
that the Indian Railways pay
`10 lakh to Moitra’s family
and his son be given a job
on compassionate grounds.
“A health unit must be set
up at Panskura since it is
such a busy station and the
railways should have a
stand-by ambulance,” Dutta
said.
ning such clubs by employing
Nepali youths,” the SP
said.
Intelligence agencies in
West Bengal who were
keeping a watch on
Wadhwa’s casinos found
that some of them, especially
‘Casino Nepal’, were
frequently used by associates
of underworld don
Chhota Rajan.
“We have photographs of
VERTICAL EFFORT
� A worker sprays water on a new high rise in Kolkata on Sunday—Prabir Bhattacharya
Murder accused in police custody
Our Correspondent
Kolkata: Avik Ghosh, who
was arrested by Bihar Police
in Munger on Saturday for
the murder of his wife
Mausumi and their domestic
help Parulbala at his
Oxytown flat on September
27, hired a mason to execute
his plan successfully.
Ghosh was brought to the
city on Sunday and produced
before Alipore court, which
remanded him in police custody
till December 10 for
further interrogation.
When quizzed, Ghosh
revealed that he had hired
mason Somnath Tanti and
others to kill his wife. “The
CID interrogated Ghosh after
he was brought to the city
from Munger. The three
other accused were also
taken to Bhabani Bhavan for
verification,” said an officer
of Thakurpukur police
station.
On November 25, police
STAGE IS OURS
Alarm raised on casino king’s entry
Baap Bahadur, a close aide
of Rajan, gambling at the
club. Interestingly, Bahadur
is married to an ex-wife of D
K Rao, Rajan’s friend, and
looks after his Nepal operations.
It is unfortunate that
we could not arrest him
because we did not get any
assistance from the Nepal
Police,” a senior Kolkata
police officer said.
It was found that Rajan
gang members frequent
these clubs to keep a watch
on Dawood’s men who are
also very active in
Kathmandu. “We have also
received tip-offs on the
underworld presence in his
casinos. This is a serious
offence and we will seek
help from the Kolkata Police
in providing more details,”
Bhatt said.
It was from Wadhwa’s
Casino ‘Yak’ and ‘Yeti’ where
Charles Sobhraj, a serial
killer, was arrested by Nepal
Police.
� Avik Ghosh at Alipore
Court on Sunday
—Shyamal Chakrovorty
arrested Tanti, Shafique
Ahmed Khan and Sadab
Pervez Khan for the twin
murder. While they were
booked under Section 396 of
the IPC for dacoity with murder
and under Section 476 of
the IPC for encashing
cheques using counterfeit
signatures, Ghosh was
booked under Section 120B
of the IPC on charges of criminal
conspiracy.
Police suspect some other
members of the family were
also involved in the gruesome
killing. According to
police sources, Ghosh had
hired Tanti for some work at
his flat. He planned the murder
with Tanti, who was
known to Mausumi. “That is
why when Tanti, along with
others, came to the house on
the day of the murder,
Mausumi opened the door,”
said Murlidhar, additional
superintendent of police,
South 24-Parganas.
According to senior police
officers, Ghosh’s unwillingness
to live with Mausumi
was the motive behind the
murder. She was his second
wife. “His first wife had
divorced him because of his
rude behaviour. Avik and
Mausumi did not have a
good relationship, either.
There might have been some
property-related disputes as
well,” said Murlidhar.
Ghosh had struck a deal
for `5 lakh with Tanti for the
murder. While Ghosh paid
� Children walk the ramp in a show titled ‘The Bhowanipore Fashionista’10’ at a hotel
in Kolkata on Saturday —Subhrajit Chandra
Injured EB fan carried
bombs, say police
Our Correspondent
Kolkata: A day after ace East
Bengal striker Robin Singh
visited Parimal Das, an East
Bengal fan admitted to a private
hospital with severe
burn injuries received during
a game against Mohun
Bagan on Friday, the police
on Sunday revealed that Das
was carrying crude bombs
and might have had sinister
intentions.
Siddhinath Gupta, deputy
inspector-general of police,
Presidency range, who is
leading the investigation
into the incident said on
Sunday that Das might have
a criminal past.
The North 24-Parganas
district police have already
initiated the probe.
“Das was carrying explosives
like crude bombs and
copper shells with him. It is
not clear whether he had
charged the shells or not. But
the crude bombs suddenly
exploded inside his pants
pocket. Some shells were
also recovered from him.
Since the man is still not out
of danger, we cannot interrogate
him. But a case has been
started,” Gupta told The
Bengal Post.
After Friday’s match, fans
burst firecrackers which hurt
several people inside Salt
Lake Stadium. Parimal, 44,
Biswajit Das, 30, and
Harichand Sarkar, 45, were
injured. Eleven people were
arrested on the day for carrying
liquor.
According to the West
Bengal Police, at least 80,000
spectators attended the
game on Friday.
Security would be beefed
up for the next derby match,
said Gupta.
`2.7 lakh in cash, more than
`63,000 was withdrawn by
Tanti from Ghosh’s bank
account. “Tanti and his associates
looted some ornaments
and some cheques of
Ghosh’s State Bank of India
account after killing
Mausumi and Parulbala.
They later forged Ghosh’s
signature and encashed the
cheques,” said the ASP.
Though Ghosh’s plan was
well thought out, he made
some slips which police used
to corner him. He had lodged
a complaint with police
claiming that someone was
withdrawing money from
his account. The police contacted
the bank and with the
help of bank employees,
made a sketch of the person
who was withdrawing the
money. The sketch matched
with Tanti and he and his
associates were arrested.
Later, they revealed that
Ghosh had commissioned
them to kill Mausumi.
Kolkata
rejects
Mirwaiz’s
arguments
Our Correspondent
Kolkata: Mirwaiz cut a sorry
figure as his arguments
failed to cut ice with other
panelists. Former army chief,
General (retd) Shankar
Roychowdhury, felt that
much of the movement was
being funded by Pakistan.
“Tell me the name of any
Hurriyat leader who has
been shot in the violence.
Backed by Pakistan, the
Hurriyat is provoking young
Kashmiris. Pakistan is funding
such violence to avenge
the defeat in the Bangladesh
Liberation War. Since June,
Pakistan has pumped in
nearly `20-30 lakh,” the former
army chief said.
Gen (Rtd) Roy Choudhury
argued that talks could only
be possible after accepting
that no parts of Jammu and
Kashmir would be allowed
to secede. “Within the
Constitution of India, you
can seek anything, but nothing
beyond,” he said.
Many other panelists
accused the Huriyyat
Conference of speaking only
about Kashmir but not about
the people of Jammu or
Ladakh or even the minorities
of the state.
Industrialist Shishir
Bajoria said: “You do not
want to be a part of the
democracy and I believe it is
because you don’t have the
strength.”
In a rare moment of unity,
both CPI(M) and Trinamool
Congress leaders rejected
Mirwaiz’s arguments.
Former city mayor and
CPI(M)’s legal luminary
Bikash Bhattacharjee said:
“More than 60 per cent have
voted, which proves that
they want to be part of the
Indian democracy. Only a
handful support Pakistan.”
Trinamool leader Sardar
Amjad Ali advised the
Hurriyat to take cognizance
of the ground reality. “The
armed forces were provoked
by the violence incited by
the Hurriyat,” he said.