Woman in trouble for 'faking' husband's death in train accident
Bhubaneswar (PTI): A woman who tried to "fake" her husband's death in the Balasore train accident for compensation cash announced by the state government and Railways is in trouble.
Gitanjali Datta of Maniabanda in Cuttack district had claimed that her husband Bijay Datta had died in the accident on June 2 and had even identified a body as her husband's. However, after verification of documents, it was found that her claim was false.
Though police let her go with a warning, trouble started after her husband filed a complaint at Maniabandha police station. The woman has now gone into hiding fearing arrest, police said.
Police said the couple has been living separately for the last 13 years.
Bijay has demanded stringent action against Gitanjali for attempting to grab public money and also faking his death.
Maniabanda police station in-charge Basant Kumar Satpathy said police have asked Gitanjali's husband to lodge a complaint at Bahanaga police station in Balasore district as the incident took place there.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary PK Jena asked the Railways and Odisha police to take stringent action against people making fake claimants over bodies.
Earlier, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had announced Rs 5 lakh ex gratia for the next of kin of the deceased while Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh. On the other hand, the Railway Ministry has declared Rs 10 lakh compensation for the families of those who died in the accident.
The Coromandel Express crashed into a stationary goods train, derailing most of its coaches at 7 pm on June 2. In all, some 288 people died in the accident and more than 1,200 were injured.
A few coaches of Coromandel toppled over the last few coaches of the Bengaluru-Howrah Express which was passing by at the same time.
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Mamata alleges BJP disrupted her Bhabanipur rally, Suvendu claims 'she's nervous'
Kolkata (PTI): Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee cut short her speech at a rally in her Bhabanipur constituency, alleging that the BJP was deliberately playing loud music from a nearby public meeting.
A peeved Banerjee said despite having the required permission of the Election Commission, her rally in Chakraberia was disrupted by the BJP, "who want to capture Bengal by intimidation and threat".
"It is not possible for me to go ahead with this meeting. If they can do such a thing in my constituency, imagine how undemocratic the BJP is. If they behave like this, I have to take legal action," she said.
"This is an insult, humiliation. BJP is stepping on our toes to instigate trouble. Not possible to address the gathering in this situation. I am leaving the stage. Please vote for me in your protest," she added.
Banerjee was then seen calling someone over and venting her grievances.
Before leaving the stage, she said, "I will hold a rally tomorrow at the same spot."
TMC supporters then rushed towards the BJP rally, which was later addressed by Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, but security personnel intervened and prevented the situation from escalating.
TMC workers later staged a demonstration outside the local police station and filed a complaint, alleging that the BJP violated the model code of conduct.
A senior TMC leader said another complaint will also be lodged with the Election Commission.
Asked about Banerjee's allegations, Adhikari told reporters after the rally he held nearby, "Her reaction shows she is nervous about the imminent loss."
"There was no violence, no obstruction in her meeting and her behaviour shows her nervousness. On May 4, people of Bhabanipur will celebrate the victory of the BJP," he claimed, alleging that the TMC also tried to disrupt his meeting by playing loud music.
South Kolkata's Bhabanipur, one of the battleground seats in the West Bengal elections, will vote in the second phase on April 29.
