Six districts affected in Odisha nor'wester
Bhubaneswar, May 3: Three persons were killed on Wednesday and six districts affected in the nor'wester in Odisha, said an official on Thursday.
Deputy Relief Commissioner Prabhat Ranjan Mohapatra said while two persons were killed after tree branches fell on them in Balasore and Bargarh districts during the rain, another person was killed in a wall collapse in Mayurbhanj district in the squall last night.
A report from Malkangiri district said that three persons were injured in the nor'wester accompanied by heavy rain, he said.
He said the government had received preliminary reports from six districts -- Bargarh, Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Balasore, Sonepur and Mayurbhanj -- so far on the impact of unseasonal rain.
"Major damage to crops and houses have been reported in the six districts and Bargarh remains the worst hit," said the official.
The government has provided a compensation amount of Rs 5.31 lakh to the families for construction of houses in Mayurbhanj district.
Other districts had been asked to submit reports on major damages due to the unseasonal rain, he added.
"The crop loss assessment has not been done yet as it is just the initial report," Mahapatra added.
According to preliminary reports, in all 456 people died due to lightning during 2017-18.
Lightning has become a major disaster in the state that claims more than 400 human lives on an average every year.
In comparison to other natural calamities that cause more economic losses, the death toll due to lightning is much higher in Odisha. The loss of 456 lives in 2017-18 is a 15 per cent increase over that of the last year, according to an official.
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Two FIRs lodged against Mithun Chakraborty for 'provocative' speech
Kolkata, Nov 6: Two FIRs have been lodged against actor-turned-politician Mithun Chakraborty for allegedly making provocative statements during a BJP event in Salt Lake area near Kolkata last month, police said on Wednesday.
The complaints pertain to Chakraborty's speech on October 27 at the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) in Salt Lake, during a BJP programme attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was in Kolkata to launch the party's West Bengal membership drive.
The first FIR was filed at the Bidhannagar South police station based on a complaint by an individual, while the second was lodged at Bowbazar police station.
"We have started an investigation into the case," a senior officer of Bidhannagar police said.
Shah was also present at the programme, which was organised to kick off the West Bengal leg of the BJP's membership drive. Shah had also felicitated Chakraborty for being honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award this year.
Although Chakraborty was unavailable for comment, BJP state president and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar described the FIRs a result of "vendetta politics.".
Majumdar alleged that the TMC government "has once again used the police to unfairly target well-known actor and senior BJP leader Mithun Chakraborty".
He accused the chief minister of employing such tactics "to serve political interests" and claimed that the state government's actions were part of an ongoing attempt to discredit political opponents.
"There is nothing provocative in his speech. These are nothing but attempts to intimidate him by using police as a political tool," he said.
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh dubbed the BJP's allegations as baseless.
"The allegations of political vendetta are baseless. He shouldn't have made such provocative remarks. The law will take its own course," he said.
Chakraborty, who received India's highest film honour, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, earlier this year, had asserted on October 27 that the 'masnad' (throne) of West Bengal would belong to the BJP after the 2026 assembly elections, promising to do whatever it takes to achieve the goal.
While speaking at the programme, Chakraborty, a BJP leader, said, "In 2026, the 'masnad' will be ours, and we will do everything to achieve the goal."
In an apparent reference to TMC MLA Humayun Kabir's communal remarks aimed at BJP workers during the Lok Sabha elections, Chakraborty had allegedly made provocative remarks.
Chakraborty cautioned that no one should attempt to intimidate saffron party voters into abstaining from voting in the next assembly elections.
He called upon the booth-level workers of his party to resist any such attempts.
