TMC leaders holding dharna outside EC office detained by Delhi Police
New Delhi, Apr 8: TMC leaders were detained by the Delhi Police on Monday while they were holding a dharna outside the Election Commission's office, demanding that the chiefs of CBI, NIA, ED and Income Tax Department be changed.
A 10-member delegation of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) had announced the dharna after meeting a full-bench of the Election Commission (EC).
The delegation urged the commission to ensure a level-playing field in the Lok Sabha polls and stop the "misuse" of the central agencies against opposition parties and leaders, TMC Rajya Sabha member Sagarika Ghose, who was among the leaders who met the poll panel, said.
The Mamata Banerjee-led party has been alleging that the central probe agencies -- the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Income Tax (I-T) Department -- have been targeting opposition parties at the behest of the BJP-led Centre.
"We asked the EC to intervene in the name of parliamentary democracy to preserve sanctity of elections. Stop ED, CBI, NIA, I-T Department from acting against opposition. They're working like the 12th man of the BJP," Ghose said during the dharna as members of her party displayed posters reading "NIA DG, ED, CBI directors change now".
TMC MPs Derek O'Brien, Mohammed Nadimul Haque, Dola Sen, Saket Gokhale and Ghose, MLA Vivek Gupta, former MPs Arpita Ghosh, Santanu Sen and Abir Ranjan Biswas, and party's students' wing West Bengal vice president Sudip Raha were detained.
The EC's spokesperson said the commission has no comments to offer on the dharna by the TMC
They were detained and taken to a police station as section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure -- that prohibits large gatherings -- is imposed in the area and no permission was taken for the protest, a police officer said.
"We were picked up forcefully by the police, some of us fell down. Ms Dola Sen has a leg injury, she was pushed around," Ghose said in a video released by the TMC.
In another video shared by the party, Gokhale said police has not informed them of where they are being taken.
In a letter to the EC, the TMC alleged that BJP leader Jitendra Tiwari met NIA Superintendent of Police DR Singh on March 26 allegedly with a "packet", and left the flat empty handed after around an hour long meeting.
"The sequence of events are ample evidence of the unholy nexus and agreement between the BJP and the NIA to harass AITC's workers so as to ensure that they are diverted from performing their electioneering duties," the TMC said in its letter to the EC.
The party has alleged that during this meeting, the BJP leader handed over a list of TMC leaders and workers to be targeted.
On Sunday, the TMC alleged on Sunday an "unholy alliance" between the NIA and the BJP ahead of elections, prompting the central investigating agency to deny any mala fide intention and label the entire controversy as "unfortunate".
A team of the NIA was allegedly attacked by a mob on Saturday when it went to arrest two main suspects in a 2022 blast case in West Bengal's East Midnapore district, sparking a political slugfest with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accusing the investigators of assaulting the villagers.
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Tribal man brings dead sister's skeleton to bank to withdraw money from her account
Keonjhar (PTI): A tribal man in Odisha's Keonjhar district on Monday brought the skeleton of his dead sister to a bank to withdraw the money deposited in her name, police said.
The incident occurred at Maliposi branch of Odisha Grameen Bank located at Patana block of Keonjhar district. The man was identified as Jeetu Munda (50) of Dianali village. He was seeking to withdraw Rs 20,000 from the bank account of his elder sister, Kalra Munda (56), who died on January 26, 2026.
"I have run several times to the bank, and the people there told me to bring the account holder to withdraw money deposited in her name. Though I told them that she had died, they did not listen to me and insisted on bringing her to the bank. Therefore, out of frustration, I dug the grave and brought out her skeleton as proof of her death," an illiterate Jeetu Munda told reporters.
Patana Police Station Inspector in charge (IIC) Kiran Prasad Sahu, who reached the bank after getting information, said, "Jeetu is an illiterate tribal man. He does not know what the legal heir or nominee is. The bank officials have failed to make him understand the procedure to withdraw money from the dead person's account."
However, after the incident, the police assured Jeetu Munda that they would facilitate the withdrawal of money from the bank account of his dead sister. Later, the skeleton was again buried at the graveyard in presence of police.
Meanwhile, local Block Development Officer (BDO) Manas Dandpat said that he was not approached by anyone for the legal heir of late Kalra Munda. "Today only, I came to know about it. We will see what can be done to resolve the issue," the BDO said.
Meanwhile, bank sources said that the nominee in Kalra Munda's bank account was also dead. Therefore, Jeetu Munda was the lone claimant over the money deposited in her name.
The local administration has directed the bank officers to make arrangements and ensure that Jeetu Munda, who is the only claimant as per the rules, gets the money as soon as possible.
