BJP leader Mukul Roy booked for TMC MLA's killing in Bengal
Kolkata : BJP leader Mukul Roy was among the four people booked on Sunday in connection with the killing of Trinamool Congress MLA Satyajit Biswas in West Bengal's Nadia district, a senior police officer said.
Of the four people named in the FIR, two have been arrested, an officer of the West Bengal Police told PTI.
Biswas (41), who represented Krishnaganj constituency in the state assembly, was shot from point blank range by unidentified assailants Saturday evening inside a Saraswati puja marquee at Phoolbari area in the district bordering Bangladesh.
He was immediately taken to a local hospital where doctors announced him "brought dead".
"So far, we have arrested two persons in this case and detained another three. A country-made revolver used to shoot the MLA has also been recovered.
"As per our primary findings, it seems that the victim was fired from behind and the act was the result of a well-planned plot," the officer said.
Asked about the chances of the assailants fleeing the area, the police officer said the state police have been put on a high alert.
"Nadia shares border with Bangladesh and there could be a possibility of them (assailants) trying to escape to the neighbouring country. Police have been put on high alert to check the movements along the border," he said.
Roy, a former TMC member of Parliament, joined the BJP last year after his relations soured with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Claiming that the attack was a conspiracy by the BJP, TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee said Saturday that those involved in the killing will be punished after a full- fledged inquiry.
He also said the saffron party was trying to create disturbances ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and resorted to "politics of murder" by singling out leaders having mass bases.
The allegations were termed "baseless" by Roy and BJP state president Dilip Ghosh.
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Hospital wall collapse: CM orders suspension of executive engineer; kin of victims get solatium
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday ordered the immediate suspension of an executive engineer for the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital wall collapse that claimed the lives of seven people, during a high-level review meeting at Vidhana Soudha.
A compensation of Rs 5 lakh, as announced by the CM Siddaramaiah, was distributed to the families of seven victims who lost their lives in the tragedy on Wednesday evening, which occurred due to heavy downpour with gusty winds and hailstorm.
The meeting of municipal commissioners of the five corporations, chaired by the chief minister and attended by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, focused on fixing accountability and examining lapses that led to the tragedy.
"Why was soil dumped in a way that damaged the wall? Why did you not monitor this?" Siddaramaiah asked, pulling up hospital authorities during the meeting.
A statement from the chief minister's office said that the CM ordered the immediate suspension of the executive engineer of the Karnataka Health Systems Development Project (KHSDP).
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He also questioned the hospital authorities, asking why they failed to monitor the dumping of soil that weakened the structure.
The chief minister directed that a notice be issued to the head of the Hospital.
During the meeting, Siddaramaiah said the rains had caused extensive damage in the city, with over 250 trees uprooted.
The Chief Minister instructed officials to take necessary measures before the onset of the monsoon to avoid untoward incidents.
Commissioners of all five municipal zones in Bengaluru have been asked to take precautionary steps, including trimming dry and dangerous tree branches, the CMO said.
Siddaramaiah also directed them to get the silt cleared from stormwater drains to prevent flooding, and that immediate action be taken to remove debris and fallen branches from roads.
Further, he instructed that barricades be placed at underpasses where water stagnates and restricts public movement.
The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) Chief Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao said in a statement that Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad distributed compensation cheques of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the deceased on Thursday.
Seven people, including a six-year-old girl, were killed and seven others injured when the compound wall collapsed amid heavy rain, strong winds and a hailstorm on Wednesday evening.
Police said the victims, comprising three from Bengaluru, two from Kerala on a study tour and one each from Uttar Pradesh and Assam, had taken shelter near the wall when it suddenly gave way, trapping them under the debris.
The chief minister questioned officials over the dumping of soil near the wall despite knowing it could weaken the structure, and directed that a notice be issued to the head of Bowring Hospital.
Siddaramaiah, who had visited the spot soon after the incident along with senior officials, reviewed the situation and ordered a detailed probe into the collapse.
