Marxist economist Ashok Mitra dead
Kolkata, May 1: Eminent Marxist economist Ashok Mitra, who served as chief economic adviser during Indira Gandhi's prime ministerial tenure and as Finance Minister of West Bengal, passed away at a nursing home here on Tuesday following old age complications. He was 89.
The Sahitya Akademi awardee was a widower.
Mitra, who was minister in the state's Left Front government, was hospitalised for almost a month with complaints of diarrhoea and later developed respiratory problems. He passed away at 9.15 a.m.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condoled Mitra's death.
"Saddened at the passing away of noted economist, former Finance Minister of Bengal and former Rajya Sabha MP, Dr Ashok Mitra. He had a long career with the World Bank, IIM Calcutta and as Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India. Condolences to his family & well wishers," she said in a tweet.
Saddened at the passing away of noted economist,former Finance Minister of Bengal and former Rajya Sabha MP, Dr Ashok Mitra. He had a long career with the World Bank, IIM Calcutta and as Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India. Condolences to his family & well wishers
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 1, 2018
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7 held for running fake call centre in South Kolkata
Kolkata (PTI): Seven people were arrested from the Parnashree area in the southern part of the city for allegedly running a fake call centre, a police officer said on Saturday.
Acting on a tip-off, police raided a house on Netaji Subhas Road on Friday night and found the fake call centre operating from the ground floor, he said.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused had set up a bogus company using forged documents and posed as employees of an antivirus firm to call citizens in the US, the officer said.
"The callers would gain the trust of victims and then use remote access to take control of their phones or other digital devices. The accused allegedly siphoned off large sums of money, running into millions of dollars, from victims' accounts," he said.
Five laptops, two WiFi routers, six mobile phones and four headsets were seized from the accused, he said, adding that the seven are being questioned to ascertain the full extent of the racket and to identify others involved.
