Youth found hanging in Bengal, BJP blames Trinamool
Kolkata, June 2: A 32-year-old man was found hanging from a high-tension tower in Dabha village of West Bengal's Purulia district on Saturday morning, police said.
Claiming that the deceased was a prominent party worker, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused the ruling Trinamool Congress for his killing and sought a CBI probe into it.
The BJP also demanded imposition of President's rule in the state, as its chief Amit Shah alleged that the Mamata Banerjee government had completely failed to maintain law and order.
The BJP chief wrote in Twitter: "This continued brutality and violence in the land of West Bengal is shameful and inhuman."
Dulal Kumar's death comes close on the heels of the murder of a BJP worker Trilochan Mahato in the Balarampur Police Station area.
The Trinamool has, however, denied its involvement in either of the incidents. The state government has handed over the probe to the Criminal Investigation Department.
"Last night, around 8.00 p.m, in Daba village under Balarampur Police Station, Kumar had gone towards a pond to respond to the nature's call. But since then he was missing.
"This morning, his body was found hanging from a tower," said Superintendent of Police Joy Biswas, claiming that preliminary investigation suggested it was a case of suicide.
"We have conducted a through probe and it seems to be a case of suicide. The body has been taken for post-mortem examination. Once autopsy is completed, we can say for sure exactly what happened to him," said the officer.
Following this statement, Biswas was transferred by the Mamata Banerjee government to the post of Commanding Officer of State Armed Police 9th Battalion and Akash Magharia was given charge as Purulia SP.
Biswas also said so far the police had not found any political angle in the case.
Disputing the police version, BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha said: "The way our leader Trilochan Mahato was hanged, Dulal has also been hanged at Balarampur. We condemn these incidents and demand CBI probe into both the killings."
Union Minister Babul Supriyo blamed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her government for the "violent situation" in the state.
"The only medicine for the malady is invoking Article 356 in the state. How we can go about it, you will see in the coming days. You will see a very strong action soon."
Three days back, 20-year-old Mahato, who was missing since the night before, was found hanging from a tree, with a message scrawled on his T-shirt that read: "This is for doing BJP politics from age 18."
A poster found near his feet said: "Was trying to murder you since the (panchayat) vote. Today, you are dead."
The police officer said Mahato had gone missing after he went to the market and his body was found hanging from the tree the next morning.
"We have started a case under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code. The preliminary investigation shows there is an angle of personal enmity and personal grudge. We are conducting a thorough probe. The real culprit will be arrested as we get some evidence," he said.
Mahato's killing had triggered protests by the BJP, whose leaders pointed out that their party had thrown a strong challenge to the Trinamool during the panchayat polls in the district last month.
Denying his party's involvement, Trinamool leader Shantiram Mahato said: "The matter has been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department. The probe will prove that we are in no way associated with the cases."
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UP govt orders three-tier probe into Jhansi hospital fire; announces ex gratia for kin of deceased
Lucknow/Jhansi (UP) (PTI): A day after a fire engulfed the children's ward of a medical college in Uttar Pradesh's Jhansi district killing 10 newborns, the state government Saturday announced Rs 5 lakh ex gratia to the parents of each deceased and also ordered a three-tier probe into the incident.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the deaths and announced an assistance of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased.
According to Jhansi District Magistrate Avinash Kumar, the fire broke out around 10.45 pm on Friday in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College, one of the largest government hospitals in the state's Bundelkhand region, possibly due to an electrical short circuit.
The children who were in the outer part of the NICU were rescued, along with some of those who were in the interior part of the unit.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the incident.
"On the CM's instructions, an assistance of Rs 5 lakh each is being provided to the parents of the newborns who died in the incident and Rs 50,000 to the family of each of the injured from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund," a statement from the state government said.
The chief minister has directed the Divisional Commissioner of Jhansi and the deputy inspector general of police to submit a report on the incident within 12 hours, it added.
Addressing an election rally at Phulpur in Prayagraj, Adityanath said the fire at the hospital was caused by a short circuit. "To ensure that other children were rescued, we were up all night coordinating (with officials) for relief and rescue efforts," he said while explaining why he was delayed in arriving at the rally.
"My heart goes out to those who lost their children," Adityanath said.
The statement from the state government said that as soon as information about the incident was received, Adityanath sent Deputy Chief Minister Brijesh Pathak and the principal health secretary to the spot.
"Sixteen children are undergoing treatment in other wards of the medical college. The children, who were three to four days old, have been kept on a warmer," Pathak told PTI on Saturday.
He said strict action would be initiated against those found guilty.
"Instructions have been issued to launch a three-tier probe into the incident. The Divisional Commissioner of Jhansi and the DIG have been told to investigate the matter and the fire department will also look into it. Along with this, instructions have also been given for a magisterial inquiry into the incident," the deputy chief minister said on X.
In another post in Hindi on X, Pathak said he has spoken to the family of the children injured in the blaze and assured them of all possible help from the Uttar Pradesh government.
Interacting with reporters, he said efforts are on to identify the newborns who were charred in the blaze. "We will find out the reasons behind the incident and whose negligence led to it. The first challenge is to give quality treatment to the injured children."
Principal of Maharani Laxmibai Medical College, Jhansi, Dr Narendra Sengar, said, "Sixteen children, who did not suffer any burn injury or suffocation, but were admitted to the NICU ward for treatment of diseases are being taken care of at the district hospital."
In the early hours of Saturday, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sudha Singh told reporters that the 16 injured children were being treated and efforts were underway to save their lives.
There was also information that some parents took their children home after the fire erupted in the ward, she said, adding the police are trying to verify the tally of the children who were in the NICU and their current status.
"The medical college has informed that 52 to 54 children were admitted at the time of the incident. While 10 of them died, 16 are undergoing treatment. Verification for others is ongoing," the police officer added.
