1. Parno Mittra And 10 Other Bengal Actors Join BJP
Eleven actors from Bengal, including Parno Mittra, joined the BJP at its national headquarters in New Delhi on Thursday as a possible counter to Mamata Banerjee’s culture clan that includes the glitterati of Tinseltown.
BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra, Bengal unit president and Midnapore MP Dilip Ghosh, Rajya Sabha member Swapan Dasgupta, national secretary Rahul Sinha and national executive member Mukul Roy welcomed the actors, most of whom are household names because of their TV soaps, and gave them the party’s membership vouchers.
Besides Parno, some of the other prominent faces were Rrishii Kaushik, Kanchana Moitra, Rupanjana Mitra, Moumita Gupta, Rupa Bhattacharya and Arindam Haldar aka Lama. Sources said more stars were likely to follow suit over the weekend.
(Source: The Telegraph)
2. Rose Valley Posers For Rituparna Sengupta
The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday questioned actor Rituparna Sengupta in connection with the probe into the Rose Valley deposit-default scam.
Rituparna arrived at the CGO Complex in Salt Lake around noon and faced a team of investigators from the ED who reportedly questioned her over an alleged agreement between her company, Bhabna Aaj O Kaal, and Rose Valley chairperson Gautam Kundu.
Rituparna starred in Chander Bari and Biye Not Out, two films produced by Brand Value Communications, one of Rose Valley’s entertainment firms. Bhabna Aaj O Kaal produced two reality shows, Boudimoni and Dance pe Chance, for Rose Valley’s entertainment channel.
“We wanted to know the details of the amount Rituparna Sengupta received on behalf of her company from Rose Valley,” an ED officer said.
(Source: The Telegraph)
3. Bidhannagar Mayor Quits A Day Before Trust Vote
Bidhannagar mayor Sabyasachi Dutta resigned from his post on Thursday, ending four months of speculation over his political future sparked by BJP leader Mukul Roy’s March visit to his Salt Lake residence for a plate of luchi-alur dom.
Dutta’s resignation means he will not have to face the Calcutta High Court directed trust vote on Friday; the numbers are stacked against him in the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, where 35 (out of 41) councillors have served a noconfidence notice against him.
(Source: The Times Of India)
4. BJP In HC Over Bongaon Civic Trust Vote Fiasco
The BJP has filed a petition in the Calcutta High Court seeking its intervention in Tuesday’s trust vote fiasco in Bongaon Municipality when two party councillors were denied entry to take part in the voting despite having a court order.
Justice Samapti Chatterjee is likely to take it up for hearing on Friday.
While hearing a case on the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation on Wednesday, Justice Chatterjee observed that the manner in which the chairman and his group prevented BJP councillors was not at all democratic. The court further observed that police on duty didn’t take action.
The BJP in its petition has demanded punishment for the police officers on duty who refused to take cognisance of the HC order.
(Source: The Times Of India)
5. Man Shoots Two Pet Dogs, Self
A 47-year-old Joynagar resident, identified as Subhankar Ray Chowdhury, shot his two pet dogs and killed himself on Thursday.
His family members said Subhankar drove his own auto, which he had bought after taking a bank loan. His family said he was unable to pay the monthly instalments on the loan and was in financial distress for some time.
On Thursday, Subhankar woke up early, climbed down to the ground-floor of his two-storied house where he brought out a gun that his father had given him and shot the dogs. After killing the two dogs, Subhankar shot himself when his wife, mother and sister, were asleep. Police said investigations show the victim was mentally disturbed owing to financial crisis.
(Source: The Times Of India)
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