Kolkata hangs its head in shame as the hope of a government with a moral compass and a heart in the right place recedes into the distance, notes Payal Singh Mohanka.
Terming the rape and murder case of a medic at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital as horrific, the Supreme Court on Tuesday came down heavily on the West Bengal government over delay in filing first information report (FIR) in the matter.
Despite Banerjee's promise of a transparent investigation, the protesters criticised the delay, demanding a judicial inquiry, capital punishment for the culprits, and adequate compensation for the victim's family.
The civic officials were involved in making forged entries in the inward register on May 26, a day after the incident, pertaining to the impact plan of the TRP game zone. The entry was shown as having been made on May 4, 2024, the police said.
The court directed the Kolkata Police to hand over the case diary to the central probe agency by Tuesday evening, and all other documents by 10 am on Wednesday.
Nearly 650 people have been killed in the recent unrest in Bangladesh between July 16 and August 11, the United Nations Human Rights Office has said in a preliminary report, suggesting a thorough, impartial and transparent investigation into reports of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detentions.
The Opposition had dubbed the directives issued by the three states as divisive and discriminatory against Muslims, and the apex court's order effectively ensured that the Yatra was held without their orders being enforced.
The Supreme Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance of the deaths of three civil services aspirants in the basement of a coaching centre in New Delhi and sought responses from the Centre and the Delhi government.
'Days ago, India witnessed the horror of the brutal rape and murder of a woman doctor on night duty at the R G Kar hospital in Kolkata.' 'The crime was so outrageous that any self-respecting chief minister should have resigned, bearing moral responsibility.' 'But then the terms 'self-respect' and 'moral responsibility' do not exist in the modern Indian political lexicon,' argues Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
Healthcare services remained affected at state-run hospitals in West Bengal as junior doctors continued their cease-work protest.
The body of a woman post-graduate trainee who was allegedly raped and murdered inside a seminar hall of the hospital, was found on Friday morning. The civic volunteer was arrested on Saturday.
The high court on Friday pulled up the police for not questioning any Municipal Corporation of Delhi official till now or even seizing the relevant file from the civic body, which could have been an important piece of evidence.
According to the cause list of August 20 uploaded on the apex court website, a bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra is scheduled to hear on Tuesday.
In a major setback to Delhi's Aam Aadmi Party government, the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the law 'expressly enables' the lieutenant governor to nominate aldermen to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and he is not bound by the advice of the council of ministers in the matter.
Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi was present at the site as the agency cracked down on illegally run basements of coaching institutes.
The student said there were two doors in the basement and one was usually locked around 6 pm.
Long queues were seen at outpatient department ticket counters in government hospitals, where senior doctors joined their junior colleagues in the protest.
A similar drive will later be carried out across the city against establishments operating illegally from basements, the official said.
Rau's IAS Study Circle, where the three students were killed on Saturday after its basement was flooded due to rain, has already been sealed by police.
A team of the civic body reached the Old Rajinder Nagar area to seal several illegally-run basements of coaching centres, a statement by the Delhi government said.
According to the Federation of Resident Doctors Association, during the indefinite strike, all outpatient departments, operation theatres, and ward duties will be shut, but emergency services will continue to operate as usual, ensuring that urgent patient care remains unaffected.
Two persons were rescued after the incident that occurred at 4.50 am in Shahbaz village, they said, adding that before the building collapsed, the authorities managed to evacuate 52 residents.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and personnel of the civic body's fire brigade rescued the two persons and carrying out the extricate the others.
The principal said that particular day was reserved for "speaking in English only" and that is why the students were stopped, the sources said, quoting her.
In the wake of bountiful rains in the last few days, one more lake supplying water to Mumbai, Tansa, started overflowing on Wednesday, civic officials said.
Western Railway stated that local train services were running normally on Monday morning, however, commuters claimed trains were running late by 5 to 10 minutes.
Flight operations at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport were suspended twice for a brief period due to inclement weather and low visibility, a source said.
At least four UPSC coaching institutes -- Vajiram and Ravi Institute, Drishti IAS, NEXT IAS, and SRIRAM's IAS -- have offered Rs 10 lakh each to the families of Shreya Yadav, Tanya Soni and Nevin Dalvin, the three IAS aspirants who died after rainwater gushed inside of the basement of Rau's IAS Study Circle in Old Rajinder Nagar on July 27.
Criticising the police for arresting an SUV driver and blaming him for the incident, the high court said, "Mercifully, you have not challaned the rainwater for entering into the basement."
Heavy rains lashed Mumbai and its suburbs on Thursday, causing waterlogging on roads in some areas that led to traffic snarls and also delayed local train operations.
Coaching institutions across the national capital, some lined up in cramped lanes while others housed in lofty buildings in busy commercial areas, are risking the lives of students, with lack of fire safety measures, single entry and exit points, faulty wiring and overloaded electrical circuits among the most common problems.
'They charge such high fees and offer us this safety. Our lives have become a mockery.'
Police booked Puja's parents Manorama and Dilip and four others after a video surfaced showing her allegedly threatening some persons with a gun over a land dispute at Dhadwali village in the district's Mulshi tehsil in 2023.
Incessant rain with intermittent heavy spells led to waterlogging on some roads and railway tracks, slowing down the public transport services.
A court in New Delhi on Tuesday reserved its order on the bail plea of an SUV driver and four owners of the coaching centre basement in the Old Rajinder Nagar area which was flooded with rainwater and led to the death of three civil services aspirants.
There are tweaks in references to B R Ambedkar's experience about the discrimination.
A few students were detained after they staged a protest in Old Rajinder Nagar in New Delhi on Sunday, demanding action against those responsible for the deaths of three civil services aspirants at a coaching centre in the area, and compensation for their families.
The chargesheet, which was submitted in court last week, includes views of the premier VJTI, as well as IMD about the ill-fated structure being of sub standard quality and not having the capability to withstand winds, an official said.
A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S V N Bhatti said it won't issue any clarification on the July 22 order as "We have said what needed to be said in our July 22 order. Can't force anyone to disclose names."
An official said the incident in the video was about a land parcel bought by Puja's father Dilip khedkar, a retired Maharashtra government officer, in Dhadwali village in Pune's Mulshi tehsil.
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