Prominent Kolkata Muslims urge Mamata to punish assailants
Kolkata, June 20: Condemning recent attacks at the NRS Hospital and harassment of former Miss India Ushoshi Sengupta, city-based Muslims have written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee not to spare any criminal owing to their religious beliefs.
In an open letter, many prominent members of the community said they were living in Kolkata for decades and deeply grieved with these recent incidents where the accused were Muslims.
"We are grieved and embarrassed," the members wrote.
The concerned signatories suggested Banerjee two ways to deal with the problem.
"Bring the assailants to book, not just in these two instances but every single instance where Muslims are involved. They should not be allowed to get away scot-free because they happened to be Muslims (as is a growing perception)," the letter read.
"This would send out the message that members of one community are not being shielded or appeased (as most people believe)".
They also suggested the state government engage with "Muslim youth and their families across Kolkata in the area of gender sensitization, civic consciousness and law compliance" programmes.
This could require long-time patience but it should be implemented right away, they added.
The letter ended with signatures of eminent Muslims along with the words "and thousands of silent sufferers".
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Bengaluru: Special court grants bail to MLA Byrathi Basavaraj in murder case
Bengaluru: A special court in Bengaluru on Thursday granted bail to BJP MLA Byrathi Basavaraj in connection with the murder of Shivaprakash alias Bikla Shiva, a realtor and rowdy-sheeter who was killed on July 15, 2025, The Hindu reported.
Santhosh Gajanan Bhat, judge of the special court of sessions for criminal cases against former and present MLAs and MPs, passed the order while allowing Basavaraj’s bail petition.
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Basavaraj was arrested on February 12, 2026, and later remanded to judicial custody after undergoing a week-long interrogation in police custody. In the case, he has been arraigned as accused number-5 among the 20 accused.
While granting bail, the court directed the MLA not to threaten or tamper with prosecution witnesses and and not to directly or indirectly make an attempt to influence any of the witness.
Among the other conditions are that he has to appear before the investigating officer as and when required and has to cooperate for the probe, and not leave the court’s jurisdiction without prior written permission.
