1. Extra Forces To Guard Counting Centres In Bengal
The Election Commission of India has decided to deploy 200 extra companies of central forces at counting centres in Bengal — a decision that is seen as the fallout of Opposition’s apprehensions that law and order could deteriorate during the counting of votes on 23 May.
The poll panel had already deployed 82 companies of central forces to guard strong rooms where EVMs are kept.
“Additional forces will be deployed at 58 counting centres across the state and they could be used to tackle law and order problems outside the centres, if required. The additional forces will be in the state till 27 May,” said a senior government official.
(Source: The Telegraph)
2. It’s ‘Undeclared Emergency’ In Bengal, Trinamool Tells EC
Trinamool Congress on Tuesday told the Election Commission of India that an “undeclared emergency has been declared in Bengal” and questioned the poll panel’s move to keep 200 companies of central forces at the state’s disposal days after defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman reportedly said that central forces are going to stay back in Bengal till 27 May. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly questioned the role of central forces deployed in Bengal and accused them of “torture and intimidation”.
According to sources, the party’s Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien — who was part of an opposition delegation to meet the EC in New Delhi on Tuesday — raised this issue separately.
(Source: The Times Of India)
3. Supreme Court Rejects Rajeev Kumar Plea On Hearing
The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to accord urgent listing of former Calcutta police commissioner Rajeev Kumar’s plea for extension of the seven-day protection from arrest granted to him in the Saradha scam.
Kumar has rushed to the top court seeking indefinite extension of shield from arrest on the ground that work in trial courts in Calcutta and Calcutta High Court has been paralysed because of the ongoing strike by lawyers.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi had on 17 May withdrawn the protection from arrest granted earlier to Kumar and said it would continue for seven days to enable him to approach the competent court for relief.
(Source: The Telegraph)
4. No Let-Up In Bhatpara Violence, Protest On Railway Tracks Hits Services For Over 3 Hours
Fresh violence broke out in Bhatpara’s Kakinara on Monday evening, hours after imposition of 144 CrPC in a 34 sqkm assembly area surrounding the Jagaddal police station.
The situation took a turn for the worse on Tuesday morning after a mob squatted on the railway tracks at Gate 29 between Kakinara and Jagaddal police stations to protest against the violence in the area. The protest later turned violent after a group of agitators started pelting stones at the crowded local trains that got stranded following the blockade. Some goons also allegedly threw bombs at a local train. Services on Sealdah-Ranaghat section were severely disrupted after the blockade, which started around 8.50am, continued for more than three hours.
(Source: The Times Of India)
5. Madhyamik Marks Milestone
The student who has come first in Madhyamik has scored 99.14 per cent, the highest in the history of Bengal’s secondary exams.
As many as 8,504 students have secured the AA grade (90 per cent or more) in the aggregate in Madhyamik 2019, the results of which were declared on Tuesday.
Students of Delhi boards, however, are still ahead of Madhyamik examinees.
Thirty-six students secured 99 per cent or more in ICSE this year. Two toppers scored 99.6 per cent each and 10 students came second scoring 99.4 per cent each. The third slot was shared by as many as 24 students, who scored 99.2 per cent each.
(Source: The Telegraph)
6. For JU Arts, Equal Weightage To Board Score, Admission Test
The Jadavpur University arts admissions committee decided on Tuesday to give equal weightage to entrance tests and plus-two marks while selecting students for admission to its nine undergraduate courses for the 2019-2020 academic session.
Tuesday’s meeting, chaired by vice-chancellor Suranjan Das, saw a lot of heated debates and discussions but managed to resolve a problem that proved intractable last year and overshadowed its entire humanities faculty admission procedure.
(Source: The Times Of India)
7. Rescued From Delhi Brothel, Girl Clears Exam Hurdle
A 16-year-old braveheart from Diamond Harbour — who was trafficked to Delhi's notorious GB Road redlight area and gang-raped before she could escape and help cops nab five of her tormentors — has taken yet another step in securing her future by clearing the Madhyamik exams.
Tabassum (name changed) said it was tough to return to school last year. “I had fought an organized gang but the day I stepped into school, my class teacher called me a ‘baje meye’ (bad girl). My life stood still until I confided in Shakti Vahini, the NGO that rescued me,” she said.
(Source: The Times Of India)
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