‘Expired’ saline case: Suspended doc moves Calcutta HC alleging harassment by CID

Kolkata, Jan 30 (IANS) As the death toll in the Anandapur warehouse fire on the southern outskirts of Kolkata reached 25 on Friday morning, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) took suo motu cognisance of the matter and directed the District Magistrate concerned to submit an action taken report at the earliest.

The NHRC acted in the matter following a complaint alleging gross human rights violations at the Wow Momo factory at Anandapur.

In a communique sent from the NHRC to the District Magistrate of South 24 Parganas district, under whose jurisdiction Anandapur comes, the Commission has stated that the complaint attributed the mishap to criminal negligence by the management of said company as well as regulatory failures on the part of the state fire services and labour departments, urban planning authorities, and local administration.

In the communique, the NHRC has also highlighted gross violations of provisions under the Factories Act and Disaster Management Act. “The allegations made in the complaint prima facie seem to be violations of the human rights of the victims,” read the communique.

Meanwhile, informed insiders from the state disaster management department, several persons are still reported to be missing, thus prompting the apprehension of the death toll rising further during the day.

On Friday afternoon, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the West Bengal Assembly will organise a protest rally in the Anandapur area. Initially, the police denied permission to conduct the protest rally.

However, later he got the permission for the same from the Calcutta High Court, which also imposed some conditions for conducting the protest rally.

On Thursday, the state fire services department and forensic team submitted their preliminary report on the incident, where it was stated that the fire did not originate from the Wow Momo factory, but from the adjacent ill-fated Pushpanjali decorator’s warehouse.

Although the Pushpanjali warehouse owner, Gangadhar Das, who was arrested after the incident, claimed that the fire first spread from the momo factory, the forensic and fire department reports suggested otherwise.

–IANS

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Kolkata, July 10 (IANS) A political war of words on social media platform X between BJP’s Information Technology Chief and the party’s central observer for West Bengal Amit Malviya, and the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, surfaced on Thursday, over the reported eviction and harassment of Bengali-speaking migrant workers at Delhi’s Jai Hind Colony.

Earlier in the day, Malviya had issued a statement which he posted on his official X account, where he claimed that false propaganda was being spread around that politics played a role behind the action at Jai Hind Colony.

He claimed that not politics but a court order prompted the action.

“The action being taken is based on a court order — not politics. The settlement in question is illegal, and the law is simply being enforced. It is no coincidence that just days ago, 26 illegal Bangladeshis were apprehended from this very area,” Malviya said in the statement.

He also observed that what was truly shameful was that Chief Minister Banerjee equated genuine residents of West Bengal with illegal infiltrators from Bangladesh who have entered India using fraudulent AADHAR and ration cards, mostly issued in 24 North Parganas.

“These illegal migrants vote for the Trinamool Congress, helping the party stay in power — just so the cycle of infiltration and appeasement never ends. Stop insulting Bengal. Stop protecting illegality,” said Malviya on his X post.

A couple of hours after his statement on X was posted, CM Banerjee issued a strongly worded statement and post on her official X account claiming that she was deeply disturbed over the information of harassment emerging from the Jai Hind Colony in New Delhi’s Vasant Kunj — a settlement predominantly inhabited by Bengalis.

“Their water supply was reportedly cut on orders from the BJP-led government. Electricity meters were confiscated and power was abruptly cut the day before yesterday. Residents also claim that the Delhi Police, backed by Rapid Action Force personnel, blocked private water tankers they had arranged and paid for. A forced eviction is currently underway despite the matter being sub-judice following another transgression last December by the Delhi Police. How can we claim to be a democratic Republic if the basic rights to shelter, water, and electricity are being trampled upon?” the Chief Minister’s statement said.

She also claimed that while migrant workers from other states stay in West Bengal with dignity while those from West Bengal are facing harassment in the BJP-ruled states, where Bengalis are being treated as infiltrators in their own country.

“Speaking Bengali does not make one a Bangladeshi. These individuals are as much citizens of India as anyone else, regardless of what language they speak.”

She also accused the BJP of spearheading an “anti-Bengali” agenda after being rejected by the voters of West Bengal in subsequent elections.

“Disturbing reports have emerged from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh, where Bengali-speaking individuals are facing targeted persecution. And now, this pattern of hostility has reached even the national capital,” the Chief Minister claimed.

–IANS

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Jaipur, Aug 30 (IANS) Self-styled godman Asaram, who is serving a life sentence in connection with raping a minor, surrendered at Jodhpur Central Jail on Saturday morning.

He reached the jail at around 10 a.m., accompanied by his lawyer and associates.

On Wednesday, the Rajasthan High Court refused to extend his interim bail, observing that his health condition was stable and did not require continuous medical care or hospitalisation.

A division bench of Justice Dinesh Mehta and Justice Vineet Kumar Mathur relied on the medical board’s report from Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, which stated that Asaram’s health was not serious enough to warrant further relief.

The court noted that Asaram had undergone treatment in several hospitals across different cities in the past three to four months, including AIIMS Jodhpur, Ahmedabad, Indore, Jaipur, and Rishikesh. However, he did not maintain regular follow-ups at any one institution.

The bench also rejected the plea of Asaram’s lawyer, Nishant Bora, who had argued that doctors at AIIMS Jodhpur reported a deterioration in his health condition on August 21.

According to the medical board’s report, six doctors had examined Asaram on August 18 and concluded that his condition was stable.

The court further remarked that multiple consultations and hospital visits did not indicate any immediate medical emergency.

Asaram had been granted bail for the first time in 12 years in January 2025. His interim bail lasted about seven and a half months before being cancelled by the High Court.

During his bail period, Asaram met his son Narayan Sai for the first time in 11 years.

Narayan Sai, himself lodged in Surat jail, was granted permission to visit his father at the Pal village Ashram in Jodhpur on June 25.

With his surrender, Asaram returned to serving his life sentence inside Jodhpur Central Jail, closing a brief chapter of freedom after over a decade in custody.

–IANS

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