Trinamool MLA shot dead in Bengal
Krishnagar (WB), Feb 9: Trinamool Congress MLA Satyajit Biswas was shot dead by some unidentified assailants inside a Saraswati puja marquee on Saturday evening in Nadia district, police said.
The ruling TMC alleged that it was a planned attack by the BJP, while the saffron party claimed that it was the result of the ruling party's infighting.
The incident occurred around 8 pm when 41-year-old Biswas, representing Krishnaganj constituency in the assembly, along with his party workers, were at the Saraswati puja marquee at Phoolbari in the Hanskhali police station area in the district bordering Bangladesh.
The TMC leader was shot from point blank range when he was coming down from the dais, the police said.
The MLA was immediately taken to a local hospital where doctors announced him "brought dead".
The police were suspecting that two assailants were present at the spot and one of them fired at him.
A firearm suspected to have been used in the crime was found in a nearby area.
A high-level inquiry has been ordered into the killing, the police said.
TMC Secretary General Partha Chatterjee said the party was shocked at the killing of the "popular youth leader".
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee directed the party leaders to stand beside the family of the victim, he said.
Claiming that the attack was a conspiracy by the BJP, Chatterjee said those involved in it would be punished after a full-fledged inquiry.
He 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.
"It was a pre-planned murder by the BJP. They have hired goons to carry out the murder," the party's in-charge of Nadia district Anubrata Mondal alleged.
BJP state president Dilip Ghosh denied the charges and claimed that the killing might be the result of infighting in the TMC.
"The allegations are baseless. The BJP is not at all involved in the case. Those who are blaming us are actually trying to hide their own sins," Ghosh said.
Senior BJP leader Mukul Roy also termed the allegations as baseless.
Reacting to the killing, state Congress president Somen Mitra said it showed that "complete lawlessness and chaos" prevailed in the state.
"The chief minister claims that law and order is good in West Bengal, but this incident shows the true condition...It's complete lawlessness and chaos that are prevailing in Bengal. We demand the CM give an explanation on how could a sitting MLA be murdered," Mitra, who is in Delhi for a party meeting, said.
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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.
