QKolkata: Mamata Meets Somnath Chatterjee’s Family; Auto Hits Two
Your daily lowdown of top stories from Kolkata.
1. Mamata Visits Somnath Chatterjee’s Family
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday, 15 August, met the family members of former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, who passed away on Monday.
Banerjee came to Chatterjee's south Kolkata residence at around 6 pm and spent over 40 minutes with the family members.
The CM talked to the former Speaker's wife Renu, daughter Anushila Bose and son Pratap, a family member said.
"The CM had a personal rapport with my grandfather and we are grateful for the way she extended support to us during his illness and on the day he died," Chatterjee's grandson said.
(Source: PTI)
2. Auto Rogues Hit Father & Son
A youth and his ailing father were allegedly assaulted and threatened by a group of autorickshaw drivers on BT Road for daring to call out one of them for his rash driving.
Tamal Bhowmik told police that he was taking his father Nilratan to the ESI Hospital in Kamarhati on Tuesday, 14 August, afternoon when an autorickshaw hit his bicycle at a traffic signal, causing both of them to fall on the ground.
"This happened on BT Road as I was waiting for the traffic light to turn green. When I asked the autorickshaw driver why he had waited until the last moment to brake, he became furious. He pushed me to the ground," Tamal recounted to officers at Belghoria police station.
"I got up and repeated the question, at which the autorickshaw driver grabbed my throat and kept saying that he would kill me. As I screamed for help, the man called some of his fellow drivers on that route and they ganged up on me."
(Source: The Telegraph)
3. Mamata Unfurls Tricolour, Given Guard of Honour by Police
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Wednesday, 15 August, unfurled the national Tricolour on the occasion of the 72nd Independence Day and took salute from a Kolkata Police contingent during a guard of honour.
The Independence Day function on Red Road was marked by display of colourful tableaux themed on several schemes and campaigns of the state government.
Besides the 'Kanyashree', 'Khadya Sathi', 'Sabuj Sathi' and the 'Safe Drive Save Life' campaign, the 'Unity in Diversity' theme was also highlighted in the tableaux.
The flag hoisting by the chief minister was followed by parade by different police wings, including the recently raised 'Winners' women police contingent and personnel of the Odisha Police.
(Source: PTI)
4. Two-Year-Old 'Pushed' into Pot of Hot Water
A two-and-a-half-year-old child from the Ultadanga area is battling for life after being allegedly pushed into a pot full of hot water by their tenant and a relative, on Friday night. The child, Dipanwita Bhuniyan, suffered 55 percent burns.
On Tuesday, Dipanwita's parents lodged an FIR, naming their tenant and the relative. Doctors, who are treating Dipanwita at SSKM Hospital, said the child suffered injuries on her chest, shoulder and hands.
According to Dipanwita's father, Sushen, he had a long-standing feud with his tenant - Rajkumari Shaw. He claimed that besides not paying the rent, the woman was also trying to usurp his property.
She alleged that the child's family was trying to frame her. The neighbours told the police that both parties had been arguing almost every day in the last few weeks.
(Source: The Times of India)
5. Car Runs Over 55-Yr-Old Woman
A 55-year-old woman was fatally knocked down by a speeding car on Wednesday, 15 August, while crossing a stretch of Bakrahat Road.
The traffic department said that flower vendor Bhagabati Naskar, a resident of the Thakurpukur neighbourhood, was declared dead on arrival at the ESI Hospital there.
"The accident occurred around 12.20 pm when she was trying to cross the road. A private car being driven in a rash and negligent manner hit her at high speed," a police officer said.
The driver fled the spot after the tragedy, leaving the passengers stranded.
"We detained the three persons who were in the car after learning that the driver had escaped. We are looking for him," the officer said.
(Source: The Telegraph)
6. Auto Refusal and Assault on Woman
An autorickshaw driver allegedly slapped a young woman in front of other commuters at the Jadavpur 8B bus stop for questioning his refusal to ferry her till Gangulybagan on his way to Garia.
If the incident on Monday, 13 August, night reflected the audacity of autorickshaw drivers in Calcutta, the trigger for the assault was the familiar problem of unregulated routes.
The woman had stopped Ashish Saha's autorickshaw for a ride till Gangulybagan after being refused by several other drivers going down the same road. None of them was willing to ferry her because the Golpark-Garia route unofficially has three sections, each with its own fleet of autorickshaws.
While Ashish has been arrested under sections 341 (wrongful restraint) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code, what happened to the woman is just another instance of the lawlessness that prevails on city roads.
(Source: The Telegraph)
7. Court Red-Cards Mayor Bodyguards
A Calcutta High Court judge on Tuesday, 14 August, requested the Calcutta mayor to ask his bodyguards to leave after an advocate pointed out that "his eight armed bodyguards are standing just outside".
Mayor Sovan Chatterjee was in the court for a hearing on his divorce case. At least two beefy men in black safari suits sat inside the courtroom, according to some lawyers.
A lawyer – many of them were bristling because the guards had allegedly tried to prevent their movement inside the court – asked Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharya if it was legal to carry arms on the court premises.
(Source: The Telegraph)
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