Three central armed police force personnel suspended for playing carrom in TMC office
Kolkata (PTI): The Election Commission suspended three central armed police force personnel after a purported video went viral showing them playing carrom inside a Trinamool Congress (TMC) office at Suri in West Bengal's Birbhum district, a senior official said on Sunday.
A departmental inquiry has been ordered into the matter, he said.
"As of now, these three personnel have been removed from poll duty. We have initiated an inquiry into the incident. The authenticity of the video recording is being checked thoroughly," the poll body official said.
The disciplinary action was triggered by a purported video which went viral on Saturday, showing one personnel playing carrom with three local youths, another standing, and a third seated on a chair inside the TMC office in Suri.
PTI, however, could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
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This was the second such disciplinary action taken against the central forces deployed in Bengal in the run up to the to the state elections by the poll body in four days for violating commission's guidelines.
On March 25, the EC transferred seven paramilitary personnel deployed on election duty in Murshidabad district out of the state for allegedly attending an iftar party in violation of guidelines.
The jawans, along with two policemen, had allegedly attended an Iftar on March 8 hosted by local TMC leader Samim Sheikh, husband of Aliara Bibi, pradhan of Nimtita gram panchayat in the Samsergunj area of Murshidabad.
Responding to the latest development in Suri, BJP candidate for the segment, Jagannath Chatterjee, condemned the incident, calling it "extremely reprehensible and disappointing."
"It is unclear how and where the central forces are being deployed. If the local administration or police had a role in this carrom game, strict action should be taken against them as well," Chatterjee said.
Congress Birbhum district president Sanjay Adhikari expressed similar concern, saying, "Playing carrom is not a crime, but doing so inside a political party's office is inappropriate."
Responding to the controversy, TMC leader of Birbhum district Malay Mukherjee said, "Those who were working here understand that casually interacting with TMC is not a crime. That is probably why they were talking and playing carrom."
The EC had previously issued directives prohibiting the deployed CAPF from accepting any form of hospitality or participating in social and private gatherings during poll duty while putting in place strict monitoring mechanisms, including GPS tracking and body cameras, to oversee movement and activities of the forces.
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Rupee falls 20 paise to 95.43 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 20 paise to 95.43 against US dollar in early trade on Tuesday as market sentiments remained fragile after renewed military exchanges between US and Iranian forces in the Gulf region.
Forex traders said investor anxiety due to instability in the Gulf is causing massive capital flight into safe-haven assets, with the US dollar acting as the primary beneficiary.
Moreover, Brent oil prices is hovering near USD 113 per barrel, maintaining pressure on oil-importing economies like India.
At the interbank foreign exchange market the rupee opened at 95.30 then lost ground to touch 95.43 against the US dollar, in initial trade, registering a fall of 20 paise over its previous close.
Rupee fell 39 paise to close at an all-time low of 95.23 against the US dollar on Monday.
"With oil boiling rupee on Monday fell to a closing low of 95.0875 and this morning the opening was still lower as it becomes more and more vulnerable when dollar index rises due to safe-haven buying and oil prices rise due to the continuous fighting in the Gulf Region," Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.
The higher oil prices will keep rupee sold off against the dollar as oil companies and FPIs intensify dollar buying, Bhansali added.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 98.51, up 0.15 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 1.07 per cent at USD 113.22 per barrel in futures trade.
"Market sentiments remained fragile after renewed military exchanges between US and Iranian forces when Iranian forces launched fresh attacks in the Gulf as both sides sought to assert control over the strategic waterway," Bhansali said.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex declined 361.62 points to 76,907.78 in early trade, while the Nifty dropped 134.90 points to 23,980.60.
Foreign Institutional Investors purchased equities worth Rs 2,835.62 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
