Mamata alleges ED raids at I-PAC office aimed at stealing TMC strategy
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday accused the ED of acting as a political tool of the BJP to "steal" her party's internal strategy, asserting that she did nothing wrong in reaching the premises linked to I-PAC during the central agency's raids a day ago.
Addressing a rally here after a massive 10-km-long protest march, Banerjee said she had intervened at the raid site purely in her capacity as the chairperson of the Trinamool Congress and not as the CM.
"What I did yesterday, I did as the TMC chairperson. I have done nothing illegal," she said, referring to her unexpected arrival at the venue of ED's searches at I-PAC offices and the residence of its India head Pratik Jain.
I-PAC provides political consultancy to the TMC.
Banerjee alleged that the agency entered the premises early in the morning and that by the time she reached, "a lot could have already been taken away".
"You entered at 6 am; I went at 11.45 am. By then, many things might have been stolen," Banerjee said, accusing the ED of attempting to access her party's strategic data ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
Escalating her confrontation with the Centre, Banerjee claimed that "all agencies have been captured" and accused the BJP of forcibly occupying power in several states.
"You captured Maharashtra, Haryana and Bihar by force. Do you think you can capture Bengal too?" she asked, adding that any political attack only strengthens her resolve. "If someone tries to hit me politically, I get politically rejuvenated and reborn," she said.
The chief minister also trained her guns on the Election Commission, alleging that the BJP had "stolen" the mandate in Maharashtra with the poll panel's help and was now attempting to replicate it in Bengal through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) by deleting genuine voters' names.
She announced that her party's "next destination" would be the Election Commission in New Delhi to oppose what she called harassment of voters during SIR.
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Man chased, brutally stabbed inside public toilet in northwest Delhi; one arrested; juvenile held
New Delhi (PTI): An alleged road rage incident took a fatal turn when a 27-year-old factory worker was chased down by assailants and stabbed multiple times inside a public toilet in northwest Delhi's Ashok Vihar area, police said on Thursday.
According to police, the incident took place on Wednesday night, when witnesses saw the victim, Santosh Kumar, running into a public toilet in a desperate bid to save his life, with his attackers hot on his heels.
"A PCR call was received at 6:23 pm on April 8 regarding a man being stabbed inside the compound of a Sulabh Sauchalaya located at the fish market in Wazirpur Industrial Area," a senior police officer said.
A police team rushed to the spot and found the victim lying in a pool of blood inside the toilet premises. The victim, originally from Nepal, was residing in Macchi Market area, the official said.
Preliminary inquiry revealed that the incident stemmed from an altercation between the victim and a motorcycle rider. The verbal spat soon escalated into a physical scuffle, during which the accused, along with an associate, allegedly attacked Santosh with a knife.
Police sources said in a desperate attempt to save himself, the injured victim ran towards the nearby public toilet and tried to latch the door from inside. Eyewitness accounts suggest he tried to take refuge inside the public toilet and shut the door to prevent his attackers from entering. However, he was chased down, overpowered, and stabbed multiple times.
Santosh collapsed on the spot, where he later succumbed to his injuries, police said.
A case under sections 103(1) (murder) and 3(5) (common intentions) was registered at Ashok Vihar police station and an investigation was taken up.
During the probe, police arrested one accused identified as Tanish (19), a resident of CSA Colony in Macchi Market area, and apprehended a juvenile allegedly involved in the incident.
Police said the motorcycle used by the accused, which they had abandoned while fleeing after the attack, was recovered near the crime scene.
Family members and acquaintances of the deceased expressed shock over the killing. Santosh's uncle, who reached the spot after being informed, recounted the scene.
"When I came here, I saw him lying on the floor, dead. I noticed that he had been stabbed twice. I am not aware of what exactly happened. He was just 27 years old and used to work in a steel company with me. I don't know how many people were involved in the attack. We are from Nepal, and I have been working here for 15 years. I think he was stabbed outside and later came inside the toilet to save himself. There was a bike outside which I think belonged to the attackers," he said.
Police said the motive behind the crime appears to be road rage -- a sudden and heated altercation on the road that spiralled into a violent assault resulting in the victim's death.
Efforts are underway to identify and apprehend any other persons involved in the attack. Police teams are analysing CCTV footage from the surrounding area and examining local witnesses to piece together the sequence of events.
