News Analysis India

Tag: Malda

  • BSF helps villagers across border give final farewell to kin

    Express News Service

    KOLKATA:  Going beyond the call of duty, BSF personnel posted in Malda district made arrangements for Bangladeshi nationals to pay their respect to a relative on the Indian side, who died of ailments two days ago.

    The body of Abdul Khaleque (55) was brought near the zero line for a handful of relatives from Bangladesh to bid a final good bye. “After Khaleque’s death, his family members living in Keshtopur village under English Bazar police station area requested our 44th battalion of the BSF posted in the area.

    They told us that some of their relatives live on the other side of the border in Bangladesh and want to see the mortal remains of before the last rites are conducted. The commandant accepted the request,” said a senior police officer.

    The family approached the commandant through the local panchayat Pradhan. “The commandant contacted the head of the battalion and he was given a nod. Khaleque’s family members were told to inform their relatives in Bangladesh and asked to bring them near the zero line of the border,” said the BSF officer.

    After getting nod from the commandant head, a message was delivered to Border Guard Bangladesh. Khaleque’s body was kept near Zero Line for 15 minutes from 10 pm.  Mehtab Mondal, a villager of Keshtopur, said the wish of Khaleque’s relatives could be fulfilled only because of the BSF’s effort. “I was also present there. Escorted by the personnel of Bangladesh Border Guard, the relatives from Bangladesh came and perform their last rites. We witnessed the BSF’s good gesture to fulfil the wish of Khaleque’s relatives living in India and Bangladesh,” he said.

    A senior BSF official said the force organised various drives to develop cordial relations with the local residents. “On many occasions, we transported patients to hospitals and extended helps to students This is part of our job so that we can take local people into confidence and receive information from them about crimes taking place in the border area,” said another BSF official.

  • Five arrested over crude bomb blasts in Bengal’s Malda

    By PTI

    ENGLISH BAZAR: Five people have been arrested in connection with crude bomb blasts in West Bengal’s Malda district, police said on Monday.

    Four children were injured after the crude bombs they were playing with, mistaking those for balls, exploded in Kaliachak’s Gopalnagar village close to the India-Bangladesh border on Sunday.

    The five people who have been arrested are local residents, Superintendent of Police Amitava Maiti said.

    The condition of two children, who were critically injured and admitted to Malda Medical College and Hospital, is stable, he said.

    A bomb disposal squad is defusing the crude bombs discovered underneath a tree beside a local mosque and scanning the area to find out whether there are more such explosives in the vicinity.

  • Bihar man arrested, four firearms seized in Bengal’s Malda

    By PTI

    MAIDAN: A resident of Bihar’s Munger has been arrested and four firearms seized from his possession in West Bengal’s Malda district, police said on Tuesday.

    The accused was nabbed by West Bengal Police Special Task Force at Khalitpur railway station on Monday while he was travelling aboard the Katihar-Howrah Express, an officer said.

    He was scheduled to deliver the guns to a person in Kaliachak in Malda district, he said.

    Malda Government Railway Police (GRP) has lodged a case and further investigation is underway.

  • Can Asaduddin Owaisi pull off another Bihar in Bengal?

    Online Desk
    The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi grabbed headlines across the nation when he first announced his party’s entry into the West Bengal Assembly election fray after a surprisingly successful campaign in neighbouring Bihar.

    Owaisi, who had trained guns on the state’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for ‘neglecting’ the Muslims in the state, has already been accused of being the B-team of BJP employed solely to cut into the minority vote bank.

    Citing Bihar’s example, where the AIMIM won five out of the nine seats it contested, the Chief Minister alleged the Telangana-based party is being paid in crores by the BJP to split Muslim votes. Owaisi thundered back saying ‘never was a man born who can buy Asaduddin Owaisi with money’.

    The Hyderabad MP will kick off his party’s election campaign in Bengal on February 25 with a rally in the minority-dominated Metiabruz area of Kolkata. However, ahead of the visit, his party is struggling to make headway in an already polarised and volatile election.

    Bengal’s 30 per cent Muslim population plays a decisive role in at least 100 out of the 294 Assembly seats. With the Bharatiya Janata Party riding high on the Jai Shri Ram pitch, these are votes Mamata desperately needs to win another term in office.

    Eyeing the same vote bank in four minority-dominated districts — Malda, Murshidabad, North and South Dinajpur — Owaisi had said his party will follow whatever decision the Furfura Sharif Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui, leader of the Indian Secular Front, takes. Following that initial announcement, Owaisi also paid the influential cleric, who retains a hold over voters in South 24 Paraganas, a visit.

    ALSO READ | ‘Is Modi afraid of Mamata?’: Hurt by CAA delay, Matuas weigh options before Bengal polls

    Siddiqui went at Mamata hammer and tongs after launching his party earlier this year and accused her of further polarising the state by introducing a dole for Muslim clerics. Interestingly, Siddiqui had previously supported the CM in the 2011 and 2016 elections.

    A week ago, the Pirzada joined the alliance with the Left and Congress, where they are still to decide on seat-sharing. This move might leave Owaisi without any official allies since the AIMIM’s political stance nationally can make it difficult for him to join Siddiqui in forming a ‘grand alliance’ with the Congress and CPM.

    AIMIM sources though continue to insist there is still hope and point out the fact that Owaisi and Siddiqui have been in touch over the phone ever since Owaisi’s visit to the latter’s residence. “The Pirzada is just weighing options. He will get back to us and form an alliance with us. We are sure of it. They are in touch with each other,” a highly-placed AIMIM leader said.

    Siddiqui himself on Wednesday confirmed that the talks are ongoing and said it is important to support “Asad Sahab”, even stating that “we should not field candidates” against Owaisi’s party. Will he forge an alliance with the AIMIM if the Congress and CPM fail to meet his demands? The possibility cannot be ruled out.

    For now, all the AIMIM has before them is the ground reality.

    Owaisi’s influence in Bengal remains limited to the Urdu-speaking upper-caste Muslims. When it comes to the rest of Bengal, language will be his first barrier. 

    The party has been working to expand its base in North Dinajpur, a district with close to 50 per cent Muslim population bordering Bihar’s Kishanganj, where the party sealed a thumping victory. There are murmurs of Owaisi’s growing popularity among young voters in the neighbourhood, but little else at the moment, say seasoned observers. 

    The party is keen on contesting at least 40-50 seats, which will be finalised on Thursday after their first core-committee meeting.

  • Bengal: Drunk car driver mows down bicyclist; hits pole, dies

    By PTI
    MALDA: A drunk car driver mowed down a bicyclist and hit an electric pole a kilometre away, causing his death and injuries to his co-passenger in West Bengal’s Malda district, police said on Monday.

    The accident took place in Char Kadirpur area in Malda police station area on Sunday night, a police officer said.

    The two men in the car were returning from a marriage function in an inebriated condition, he said.

    The 35-year-old car driver and the 22-year-old bicyclist, both residents of English Bazar town, died on the spot and their bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination, the officer added.