Trinamool leader killed in Bengal, body found inside septic tank
Kolkata, July 29 : A Trinamool Congress leader from West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district was brutally murdered and his body thrown into a septic tank inside a factory here, police said on Sunday.
The body of Sudhir Das, who was missing since Saturday afternoon, was recovered on Sunday morning from inside a factory premises in North 24 Parganas's Madhyamgram, where he used to work as a watchman.
"The body of Das, 68, a Trinamool Congress ward president in Madhyamgram aream was found from inside a septic tank, with his hands and legs tied together. There was a grievous injury mark on the deceased's head," an officer from Madhyamgram police station said.
Police have detained one person so far after thoroughly examining the CCTV footage at the factory gate.
The family members claimed that Das could have been murdered due to "political reasons".
"He never used to discuss politics with me at length but I could feel that he was tense about the political situation here. Lot of people did not like him because used to protest against the wrongdoings of the syndicates," said Das' wife.
Police said they have sent the body for autopsy and are interrogating the fellow workers of Das at the factory to find out the possible motive behind the murder.
State Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim, expressing grief in the death of the veteran party activist, said Trinamool workers are sacrificing their life at many places while trying to fight against the corrupt.
State BJP President Dilip Ghosh, however, claimed that such incidents are the proof of massive infighting that exists within the state ruling party. He also took a dig at the state government claiming there is no law and order in Bengal.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
