Stalemate on anti-erosion works

Statesman News Service

MALDA, July 29: Officials of the Farakka Barrage Project, a Central government wing, and the state irrigation department have locked horns over the issue of anti-erosion works on the left bank of the Ganges.While the FBP is responsible to initiate anti-erosion measures, flood protection is the responsibility of the state irrigation department. Officials of the two departments are not cooperating with each other. As a result, anti-erosion and flood protection works on the left bank of the Ganges has suffered.Yesterday, the executive engineer of Malda irrigation division, Mr S Misra allegedly refused to provide a vessel to the FBP officials who wanted to visit the Ganges following severe erosion at Domhat in Manikchak block. "We can not provide you the vessel without the chief engineer's permission," Mr Misra, allegedly told the FBP officials. It was learnt that Mr Misra was unhappy with a complaint lodged against him by a superintendent engineer of the FBP. The complaint letter that included a photograph of the spot and addressed to senior officials of the state irrigation department, read: "The irrigation department has constructed a mini dyke in an unscientific manner on the left bank of the Ganges." The FBP official also wrote in his complaint letter that the new mini dyke would breach at any moment and inundate vast areas, besides claiming several human lives. Today, the FBP officials informed the state irrigation officials about severe erosion at Narayanpur. They requested the irrigation officials to initiate anti-erosion measures in the area. Mr Misra, however, told the FBP officials that since the area is under the jurisdiction of the FBP, the irrigation department would not take up any anti-erosion work there. "The FBP is responsible for anti-erosion work from Farakka Barrage to 40 km upstream up to Rajmahal," Mr Misra, said. The Farakka officials, however, claimed that the FBP's jurisdiction ends at Manikchakghaat.

20 cows take the plunge

Statesman News Service

MALDA, July 26: Scared by lightning, 20 cows jumped into a water channel and drowned at Noorpur Ghat in Manikchak block of Malda district yesterday. Hapless villagers saw the incident unfold before their eyes but could do nothing to save the cows fearing nature’s fury. According to an eyewitness account, the cows were returning home in the evening when lightning struck. Confused by the sound and the flash, the herd of cows jumped into a nearby water body and were swept away. The cows could not swim ashore as the water in the channel was deep. Moreover, the channel was covered by hyacinth, which posed an obstacle the cows could not overcome. “They were simply swept away by the swift current of water,” said M Soumitra Roy, in-charge of animal resources development of Malda zilla parishad. The locals tried to recover the cows later but only came up with only three carcasses. The rest had been swept away.

More talks on casual workers' pink slip

Statesman News Service

MALDA, July 26: Officials of the directorate of local bodies would visit English Bazaar Municipality on 30 July to discuss the contentious issue of retrenchment of 450 casual workers with the civic authorities.It may be recalled that the board of councillors of the Congress-led English Bazaar Municipality (EBM), comprising Left and non-Left members, had recently adopted a unanimous resolution against carrying out the retrenchment order of the directorate of local bodies (DLB).According to official sources, the DLB officials would also inspect utilisation of government funds allotted to the municipality for implementation of solid waste management project in the town. The DLB, it may be recalled, had warned the civic body chief Mr Narendranath Tiwari that it would appoint an administrator to look after the financial transactions of the municipality if casual workers engaged since 1992 were not retrenched. Thus, the DLB officials' decision to check accounts of government funds has worried the EBM authorities. The DLB has questioned the integrity of the civic board in utilising government funds following a complaint lodged by members of the CPI-M back workers' union of the municipality. It was alleged that the civic body had diverted government funds to ensure payment of the casual workers of the municipality. Although the civic body had discontinued 21 casual workers following the DLB's order, the board of councillors of the municipality held a meeting and decided not to execute the DLB's second order of retrenching 450 workers.Meanwhile, led by Sujapur MLA and Malda district Congress president Ms Rubi Noor, the Congress councillors of the EBM today held a demonstration. "There is no question of retrenching the workers," Ms Noor, said. "I would discuss the issue with Mr Asok Bhattacharya and the CM," she added. "If the DLB appoints an administrator to look after financial transactions, the civic body chief will resign," said Congress councillor and in-charge of water supplies Mr Asish Kundu.

Sandbank to reduce Ganges erosion rate

Statesman News Service

MALDA, July 25: Latest satellite images of the Ganges have brought hope for the people of Bangitola and Panchanandapur in Kaliachak II block. The satellite picture shows that a shoal (sandbank) is surfacing from the Ganges close to the erosion hit areas of Kaliachak II. More encouragingly, the sandbank is increasing its area gradually due to silt deposition. “The shoal area is increasing by the day. In 2003 it was just 300 square metres, last year it increased to 800 sq metre but now it has grown to 1.6 square km,” said Mr S Misra, executive engineer, Malda irrigation division. According to him, the island is coming up as a blessing for the inhabitants of the region as it would reduce the rate of erosion on the left bank diverting the water ways from left to right. The official, however, expressed worry over certain areas located at the up stream of the Ganges such as Gopalpur and Domhat in Manikchak block, following the meandering trend of the river. Irrigation department officials visited the bank line of the Ganges today and observed that whirling has started on the left bank of the river at Manikchak in the up stream. According to the officials, huge quantum of waters from the river Fulohar gushing into the Ganges is affecting the left bank from its confluence up to Gopalpur and Domhat. It may be noted that before Kaliachak II areas, the present vulnerable spots had earlier been hit by erosion rendering hundreds of people homeless. According to the Malda flood control cell, the Fulohar is flowing 75 centimetre above the extreme danger mark today. The trend of the river is rising and the red alert is on. The water level of the Ganges is above 24 metres at Manikchak point with a rising trend.

Mishap death sparks roadblock

Statesman News Service

MALDA, July 24: Protesting against the death of a student in a road mishap, angry students of Malda College blocked a busy road in English Bazaar town for more than an hour today. The agitating students were backed by the Students' Federation of India activists.It was learnt that Nabendu Karmakar, a student of Malda College, was run over by a private bus on Rabindra Avenue road in English Bazaar town today. The accident occurred when Nabendu was on way to his house riding a bicycle. According to eyewitnesses, Nabendu, who got admission in postgraduate self-financing education system of Malda College, was returning home today to give the good news to his family members. He, however, died in the mishap.Peeved at the incident, angry students led by the SFI blocked the Rabindra Avenue road, demanding measures to avoid frequent accidents. Several vehicles remained stranded on the road following the agitation.The Malda SDO and additional superintendent of police rushed to the spot and assured the students of introducing measures to stop frequent mishaps on Rabindra Avenue road.The students lifted their agitation after getting the assurance.Meanwhile, the driver of the killer bus has surrendered to the police. The Malda district administration would hold a meeting with private bus owners here tomorrow to fix speed limits for vehicles plying on the Rabindra Avenue road, the Malda SP, MR DK Mondal, said.

Govt nod to Rs. 1 cr grant on floods

Statesman News Service

MALDA, July 24: The state government has sanctioned Rs 1 crore for flood protection and anti-erosion works in Malda, a senior district administration official said here today. The irrigation officials have been asked to carry out the projects without any delay.Meanwhile, the water level in the Fulohar river crossed the danger mark today, prompting the Malda irrigation officials to hoist red signal. The water level in the Fulohar was recorded at 28.55 metre today. The district administration officials today visited the villages on the banks of the Fulohar to assess loss of properties following reports of erosion. The irrigation officials, however, said that the situation is under control in the erosion-hit area.According to the officials, the water level in the Ganga and the Mahananda is also on the rise. The officials, however, ruled out the possibility of floods in the district.Mr S Misra, executive engineer, Malda irrigation department, said the water level in the Ganga was recorded at 23.90 metre today which is far below the danger mark. Similarly, the water level in the Mahananda was recorded at 18.77 metre this morning, five metre below the danger mark.

Talks to bring dropouts home

Statesman News Service

MALDA, July 24: The Malda district magistrate, Mr CR Das, and a senior Sarba Shiksha Abhijan (SSA) official from Kolkata held a meeting with the district education officials here today to discuss ways of bringing all dropouts back to schools. Panchayat officials and sabhadhipati of Malda Zilla Parishad were also present at the meeting. In Malda district, the number of dropout students, aged between 5 to 13 years, is nearly 1.30 lakh, officials said. The Malda district education officials are finding it difficult to bring the dropouts back to schools under the SSA scheme owing lack of infrastructure in primary and secondary schools. The SSA official today urged the Malda district administration to extend all possible help to the education officials to improve infrastructure in schools.

Civic body rules out retrenchment

MALDA, July 23: The board of councillors of the Congress-led English Bazaar Municipality (EBM), comprising Left and non-Left members, today unanimously decided against carrying out the retrenchment order of the directorate of local bodies .It may be recalled that the DLB had recently instructed the English Bazaar civic body to disengage over 450 causal workers. The EBM chairman, Mr Narendranath Tiwari, said an all-party delegation would soon meet state municipal affairs minister Mr Asok Bhattacharya to discuss the issue. "We would urge the minister to scrap the DLB's retrenchment order," Mr Tiwari, said. He added that both the Left and the non-Left councillors of English Bazaar Municipality have agreed to the point that the civic board had recruited casual workers for public services in the town according to the requirement. It may be recalled that on the basis of complaints lodged by the CPI-M backed EBM Employees' Union and a few councillors, the DLB had issued the retrenchment order in the second week of July.n SNS

Ganga swells in Malda

MALDA, July 23: The water level in the Ganga is on the rise in Malda district following heavy rainfall in upper catchment areas, Mr S Misra, the executive engineer of Malda irrigation division, said today. Meanwhile, the irrigation officials have lifted red signal from the protected zone in northern Malda as the water level in the Fulohar river has begun to recede. "The water level in the Fulohar was 28.15 metre below the danger mark today," the irrigation officials, said. The officials, however, added that the water level in the Ganga would cross the danger mark tomorrow. n SNS

Protest spurs teachers' rethink

Statesman News Service

MALDA, July 23: Following protests from teachers, the Board of Secondary Education, West Bengal, is planning to reconsider its decision of conducting eight unit tests instead of four in a year in high schools, Mr Tapan Chakrabory, a board member and Malda district secretary of All Bengal Teachers' Association (ABTA), said here today.It may be recalled that the board had recently issued a circular, making it mandatory for the high schools to take eight unit tests from the students of class V to class X instead of the half yearly examination. The teachers' organisations, however, expressed their reservation against the proposal and urged the board officials to reconsider it. Mr Chakraborty said that a final decision would be taken at the next meeting of the board. "Since the school authorities are not conducting unit tests in a proper manner, the board !is planning to review the system," Mr Chakraborty said.

Panchayat staff in salary scam

Statesman News Service

MALDA, July 22: The Malda district administration has issued a showcause notice to a job assistant of a gram panchayat in Malda's Kaliachak II block, asking him to explain the alleged irregularities in disbursement of salary to the workers recruited under the Centre's National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. It was alleged that papers showed a labourer receiving Rs 6,640, whereas he allegedly received only Rs 500. Similarly, the GP officials claimed that Humayun Shiekh, another labourer, received a sum of Rs 2,126. However, upon investigation, Humayun's name was not found in the workers' list. The investigating officer also found that although a road was not constructed, the GP officials showed the project as completed in papers. The panchayat officials could not even show the photographs of the project work to the investigating officer. It was alleged that the accused job assistant had prepared a false master roll for the payment of labourers under the NREGS in Bangitola and Panchanandapur I gram panchayat areas.

Malda administration sounds flood alert

Statesman News Service

MALDA, July 21: The Malda district administration today sounded the red alert in the protected areas as the water level in the Fulohar rose to 28.5 metres ~ six inches above the danger mark. The executive engineer Malda irrigation division Mr S Misra said that the water level is feared to rise up to 28.80 metre by tomorrow. There is no report of fresh inundation breaching any embankments in the protected areas of the northern part of Malda district, Mr. Misra added. According to him, the water level of the Ganges has fallen back to 24 metres. “Hopefully water level will be receding from Monday if rain does not continue in the catchments,” Mr Misra, said. Meanwhile, erosion continues unabated along the Bangladesh border including the Battali area where a 12 metre stretch of fencing was destroyed.

Erosion damages fencing

Statesman News Service

MALDA, July 20: Severe erosion by the Punarbhaba river since yesterday has uprooted about 12 metre in the fencing, along the Bangladesh border at Bat-tali under the Bamongola police station. The irrigation department has taken up palliative measures to save the rest of the border fencing, Mr S Misra, the executive engineer, Malda irrigation division, said. According to the irrigation department officials, the Central Water Commission has sought an estimate for permanent measures to protect both the border road and the fencing along the Punarbhaba and Mahananda rivers. The Malda irrigation officials had submitted four projects, covering six vulnerable points including Bat-tali and Khutadaha for the protection of the border road and fencing in Old Malda and Bamongola block areas, to the CWC for approval. It was also stated that a 5.4 km stretch on the bank of the two rivers had been detected as vulnerable against erosion. “Though the estimated cost of the project was more than Rs 12 crore, it has been increased to Rs 14 crore, following the recent CWC guideline,” Mr Misra, said. The project is likely to be executed this winter. While the Fulohar is in a destructive mood, the increasing water level in all the major rivers of the district has set off an alarm, as the irrigation and the weather experts predict more rains and therefore more rise in the water level. According to the irrigation department chief given the amount of rainfall, the water level in the Fulohar is feared to cross the danger mark tomorrow. The irrigation department recorded 27.15 metres water level on the bank of the Fulohar, sounding red signal in some unprotected areas. Similarly, the water level of the Ganges was recorded 23 metres today and is feared to go up to 23.50 metres, following the rising trend in the Ganges water in Allahabad and Patna. The water would flow down in the next 48-hours here, Mr Misra, said. It is feared that a sudden rise in the water level of the Ganges could spell disaster for Sakurullahpur (Shibmandir) point in Kaliachak II. Bagdokra point on the bank of Fulohar in Ratua, according to the irrigation department.

BSF shoots cattle thief

MALDA, July 19: Sheikh, an alleged cattle smuggler from India, was shot dead by Border Security Force personnel at Chorianantapur in Malda’s Baishnabnagar police station area early this morning, the Malda SP, Mr DK Mondal, said. Quoting BSF officials, the SP, said: “Sheikh was trying to cut the barbed wire fencing to smuggle cattle to Bangladesh. The BSF had to open fire to stop him.”Meanwhile, local political leaders and villagers have claimed that Sheikh was “innocent.” The police have sent Sheikh’s body for postmortem to a local hospital. In another incident, the BSF jawans intercepted eight persons, including six Bangladeshi nationals, at Jagajibanpur in Malda’s Habibpur police station area and handed them over to the police.Police arrested the eight persons. “The six Bangladeshi nationals had entered the Indian territory in connivance with two Indians to steal cattle. The Bangladeshis have been charged with entering the country without documents,” Mr Mondal added. n SNS

RSP men block highway for bridge demand

Statesman News Service

MALDA, July 18: Demanding inauguration of the second Mahananda Bridge completed several months ago, RSP supporters blocked a state highway at Sahapur Shibmandir More today.The bridge was constructed for better communication between the state highway and English Bazaar town and for light vehicles travelling from the eastern part of Malda. Politically it was also stated that thousands of people of Sahapur gram panchayat would be benefited once the bridge became operational. It may be noted that Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had laid the foundation stone for the second Mahananda Bridge just after taking over charge as chief minister, after the retirement of Mr Jyoti Basu. Though Mr Bhattacharjee had announced that the bridge would be completed in a year, it is yet to be inaugurated, the reason, failure of the administration to construct the alignment for its approach road on the bank line of Mahananda river in English Bazaar town. The PWD minister Mr Kshiti Goswami had held a meeting with the political organisations and administrative officials and had proposed to acquire land with proper compensation. But there were several objections against the proposed land acquisition move. The district sports association had also held a convention to resist the administration’s intention to construct an alignment close to its playground and there is difference of opinion among the political leaders belonging to Congress, Trinamul Congress and the CPI-M on the issue. RSP leader, Mr Sarbananda Pande today blamed both the former and present English Bazaar MLAs and Congress leader and Sabhadhipati of Malda zilla parishad for delaying inauguration of the bridge. #

Teenager rescued from flesh traders

Statesman News Service

MALDA, July 17: The police have rescued a 14-year-old girl, Basanti Sarkar, from Asansol in Burdwan. She had allegedly been kidnapped from Gazole in the month of April and was sold off to a pimp, the police said today. Acting on a tip off, police from Malda raided the house of one Manjit Kaur at about 4 am today with the help of the Hirapur police in Burdwan. The police rescued the girl Basanti and arrested Pappu Kaur, son of Manjit, whomanaged to flee. The Malda superintendent of police, Mr DK Mondal, said: "The CID in Kolkata got the information about the abduction and fate of the girl and informed me to take necessary action. Basanti's father also met me recently and explained his daughter's plight. The rescued girl was produced in Malda court today and was handed over to her father. There is some complaint against the Burdwan district police though in the matter. "Basanti's father had sought help from the Hirapur police but he did not receive the expected cooperation from them," alleged Adhir Mandal, neighbour of the victim. According to Adhir Mandal, Manjit Kaur has connections with local influential persons and prevented the police from raiding her house. Finally Adhir Mandal informed the matter to the CID in Kolkata and necessary action was taken to rescue the girl. The Malda SP summoned the officer in-charge of the Gazole police station and instructed to register the case and conduct a rescue operation with the help of Burdwan police. It is alleged that the Gazole police were also reluctant to take the initiative to rescue the girl from the flesh trade racket. According to the Malda SP, the victim claimed that she had been lured away by some local youth from home. "According to the girl's version, she was later found unconscious near the Madhupur Railway Station in Bihar from where a Railway hawker nicknamed Chedi took her home, kept her for a month and ultimately sold her off against a sum of Rs 10,000," the SP informed. The girl was thereafter pressed into the world of flesh trade. One day she sought help from a man named Faiz Ali and gave him a telephone number to inform her father. Mr Ali informed the matter to Basanti's father over phone and gave the location where she was being held, the police said. #

One arrested , fake notes seized

Statesman News Service

MALDA, July 16: Acting on a tip-off, the Malda police arrested one Ufal Mondal and seized 197 fake currency notes of Rs 500 denomination from the Permanent Township area, near Farakka under Baishnabnagar police station last evening. The Malda SP, Mr DK Mondal said that Ufal was produced in Malda court today. The court has allowed the police to interrogate him for more information about fake currency rackets operational along the Bangladesh border. The SP claimed that Ufal has confessed that he was hired by one Rajesh Basak to do the job against payments. “Ufal received the fake currency notes from Rajesh Basak at Golapganj, a village close to Bangladesh border under Kaliachak police station with an instruction to hand him the notes back at Farakka. We are looking for Rajesh Basak,” the SP, said claiming the police were sure that Rajesh had collected the fake notes from racketeers in Bangladesh.

Malda Security

Anonymous threat letter has prompted the Malda district administration to introduce additional security measures in and around the Malda Railway Station. The Malda Railway Protection Force (RPF) officials reportedly received an anonymous letter last night in which it was stated that the militants would blow up either the Mahananda bridge or the Rathbari flyover, located within a two-kilometre radius of the Malda Railway Station. According to police, someone threw the threat letter on one of the platforms of the Malda Railway Station around 9 p.m. yesterday. Commenting on the fresh threat letter, the Malda SP, Mr DK Mondal, said: “Although the contents and the source of the letter are subject to verification, we have decided to introduce additional security measures in and around the station.” As part of special security measures, DIB personnel and additional police forces would be deployed in the area, the SP, said. It may be recalled that the Malda district police had received a similar threat letter from Maoist group on 6 July. The letter prompted Mr AK Sarkar, I-G, GRP, to visit the station and inspect security. Quoting Intelligence sources, Mr Sarkar had told reporters that apart from the Maoists and the KLO, other militant outfits, such as the Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, Bangladesh’s main terrorist group, have plans to blow up the Malda Railway Station. n SNS

Malda civic body set to retrench casual workers

Statesman News Service

MALDA, July 13: The English Bazaar Municipality chairman, Mr Narendranath Tiwari, today said that almost all non-Left councillors of the municipality have agreed to carry out the government order to retrench casual workers recruited since 1992. “Though the EBM’s service system would be thrown out of gear after the retrenchment, it is necessary to teach a lesson to the CPI-M councillors, who had lodged a complaint on the matter of casual staff with the directorate of local bodies,” Mr Tiwari said. He added: “We have decided to carry out the government order on the matter and discontinue the services of the casual staff. The Left councillors and the Left Front government would be responsible for the wretched condition it would lead to.” It may be noted that in a letter to the EBM chief on 9 July Mr SK Bhowmick, joint director, municipal affairs has asked the board to ‘disengage’ all causal staff within seven days from the date of receipt of the letter. The EBM has since 1992 engaged nearly 1,200 causal workers. Claiming that many of the casual workers had been recruited by the previous CPI-M led board,” the EBM chief observed that the CPI-M would also feel the pinch once the retrenchment order is carried out. The non-left political orgainsations backed permanent and causal workers of the EBM staged a demonstration near the municipal office to draw the attention of the common people. They have also decided to confine Mr Tiwari to draw the attention of the administration and seek stay order against the DLB’s instruction. The Left backed union leaders, who had lodged complaint with the DLB, said that they would cooperate with the civic body chief if the board agreed to discontinue services of casual workers engaged since 2005. The CPI-M backed Independent councillor, Mr Nihar Ranjan Ghosh, said that the Congress-Trinamul-BJP board has engaged hundreds of causal workers to increase political manpower.

Retrenchment may spark off trouble

Statesman News Service

MALDA, July 12: - An instruction from the directorate of local bodies to lay off hundreds of casual workers engaged with the English Bazaar Municipality, has landed the Congress, Trinamul and BJP-run civic board in trouble. The development has triggered some hasty meetings between the civic body chief and non-left councillors ~ the objective, how to save the situation and satisfy the DLB’s instruction as well. The EBM councillors fear that civic service would collapse if they disengage all casual staff recruited after 31 December1991, in keeping with the DLB instruction. In a letter to the English Bazaar Municipality chief on 9 July, Mr S K Bhowmick, joint director, municipal affairs has asked the board to ‘disengage’ all casual staff within seven days from the date of receipt of the letter. It may be noted that EBM has since 1992 engaged nearly 1,200 casual workers. The CPI-M, Congress and Trinamul had recruited the casual workers during their tenure in the board. The Congress councillors today alleged that the CPI-M backed Staff Union of the EBM and CPI-M councillors lodged complaints with the DLB recently and informed it of the presence of the casual workers and ongoing recruitment. “Acting on their complaint the DLB inquired about the casual workers’ recruitment and instructed to ‘disengage’ them with immediate effect,” said Mr Asish Kundu, a Congress councillor. The EBM chief, Mr Narendra Nath Tiwari refused to comment on the development. It was learnt that the EBM board had been suppressing the matter of casual staff recruitment in the EBM for years. As a result, the civic body is releasing payment more than Rs 12 lakh every month. The Left councillors alleged that the Congress led civic body has diverted funds to pay the causal staff. The non-left staff leaders are demanding ‘retrenchment’ of casual staff from 2005. The situation is proving a catch-22 one for the Congress led board. On the one hand it is likely to face stiff resistance and an agitation from the casual workers if the DLB’s instruction has to be executed. On the other hand, the civic board cannot afford to violate the DLB’s instruction. Under the circumstances, civic service, it is feared, could fail in the area.

Missing bullet mystery: Cops to be punished

Statesman News Service

MALDA, July 10: Police authorities in Malda have decided to take action against three policemen in connection with the 50 missing bullets from a police camp at Laxmighaat village. The bullets were detected missing since 7 July and are yet to be traced back much to the embarrassment and worry of the police administration.Seven policemen had been posted in the camp, which had been set up at Laxmighhat to diffuse tension over mango harvesting rights in the area."The inquiry report has been prepared and we will take departmental action against at least three policemen tomorrow," said the Malda superintendent of police Mr DK Mondal. According to him, of the seven policemen posted at the camp, two had come to Malda town to receive salary on the day the bullets went missing. Three policemen were on duty out side the camp. Only two policemen were at the camp when the incident took place. The Malda SP suspects that some local people could also be involved in the incident. During the probe, police officials have learnt that some of the policemen posted at the camp had befriended some locals and those people may have abused the gesture by stealing the bullets, the Superintendent of Police added.

GRP, cops differ on terror

Statesman News Service

MALDA, July 10: How seriously is the Malda Railway Station under threat from terrorist and militant organisations? Contrasting statements from senior GRP and state police officials on the issue today has served to increase the common man's apprehension level.As a follow up to recent Intelligence inputs regarding security threat to the Malda Railway Station, the IG, GRP Mr AK Sarkar visited the station today and held a meeting with the security personnel. He later told the media that Intelligence agencies have intimated the GRP that besides the Maoists and the KLO, the Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, Bangladesh's main terrorist group, have plans to blow up the Malda Railway Station, which is an important one in the bordering district with Bangladesh. "Under the circumstances, security and joint patrolling between the GRP and RPF would be intensified round the clock in and around Malda station," the IG, GRP, said. If the IGP, GRP's comments suggest that his trip had been organised to take stock of the security measure in and around the Malda Railway Station to foil an extremely sinister plot, the Malda SP, speaking on the same subject today almost downplayed the matter. "The IG Rail police Mr AK Sarkar's visit to Malda Town Station today was simply a routine visit. Do not try to relate the visit with potential security threat to the Railway station," the Malda SP Mr DK Mondal told media persons, adding to the confusion.Caught between the contrasting statements issued by two top police officials, Malda residents are a confused lot. The beefed up security at the station, a close watch on the passengers and their belongings at the Malda Town Station by the security men have all added to the confusion. Add to that the Intelligence input that a group of men from Kashmir and Bangladesh and linkmen to militant groups like the Maoists and the KLO may have taken shelter in the region and the picture of apprehension level among the people is complete.

Missing bullet mystery: Cops to be punished

Statesman News Service

MALDA, July 10: Police authorities in Malda have decided to take action against three policemen in connection with the 50 missing bullets from a police camp at Laxmighaat village. The bullets were detected missing since 7 July and are yet to be traced back much to the embarrassment and worry of the police administration.Seven policemen had been posted in the camp, which had been set up at Laxmighhat to diffuse tension over mango harvesting rights in the area."The inquiry report has been prepared and we will take departmental action against at least three policemen tomorrow," said the Malda superintendent of police Mr DK Mondal. According to him, of the seven policemen posted at the camp, two had come to Malda town to receive salary on the day the bullets went missing. Three policemen were on duty out side the camp. Only two policemen were at the camp when the incident took place. The Malda SP suspects that some local people could also be involved in the incident. During the probe, police officials have learnt that some of the policemen posted at the camp had befriended some locals and those people may have abused the gesture by stealing the bullets, the Superintendent of Police added.

Missing bullets : Malda SP orders probe

Statesman News Service

MALDA, July 9: An attempt by a section of Malda police to suppress the matter of 50 missing bullets from their custody has gone sour. Malda SP Mr DK Mondal has learnt of the development and has ordered a probe. The bullets were stolen from a police camp set up at Lakshmighaat village under English Bazaar police station several weeks ago, to defuse tension following the death of a villager over the rights of mango harvesting. Informed by the media, additional SP Mr S Sarkar today visited the Lakshmighaat outpost to inquire the matter of the missing bullets. Interestingly, local police officials had failed to report the matter to him. “Much now depends on the ASP’s report. Action would be taken against the errant police officials posted at the out post. They are likely to be suspended for negligence of duty,” the Malda SP, said. The SP said that the police are trying to recover the missing bullets and account for all the bullets issued to policemen of the outpost. “The unused bullets apparently stolen on Saturday night would prove dangerous in the hands of criminals,” he added. According to the Malda SP, the inspector in-charge of English Bazaar police station was informed that a few bullets were missing from the out post. “The inquiring officer has found that 50 bullets are missing,” he, said. The IC English Bazaar summoned the incharge of Lakshmighaat outpost and a few others of the post to learn of the missing bullets. Police officials said that the Malda SP was not informed about the incident.

Terror alert at Malda rail station

Statesman News Service
MALDA, July 6:Following Intelligence reports that terrorists and militants were training their guns at the Malda Railway Station, the Railway Police Force have beefed up security in and around the station since last night. The police have increased vigil too.
According to Intelligence reports received by the RPF here, Maoists and KLO militants were planning to strike at Malda Railway Station. With the scars of the 20 November Belakoba Station blast still fresh, the security people are not taking any chances.
“The Intelligence report states that militants might attempt to blow up the Malda Railway Station, adjoining vital installations and passing trains in the next two weeks,” said Mr RK Mishra, inspector Malda RPF.
“As per instructions from our higher authorities we have alerted all concerned to continue checking all trains and passengers entering railway stations”, he added.
The district administrative officials have alerted the Government Railway Police officials to keep a close watch on Malda station from this morning.
“The number of plain cloth policemen has been increased in Malda Town Railway Station to monitor the situation round the clock,” said the Malda SP Mr Dilip Kumar Mondal, superintendent of police.
District Intelligence officials have been posted with metal detectors to check passengers and their belongings at the station and on trains, Mr Mondal added.
According to the SP, the information is perhaps based on suspicion after a clash between wardens, Maoists and KLO men in Malda jail and circulation of Maoists posters in Malda court recently.
The RPF today detained the down Kamrup Express at Malda Town Station, raided coach number S-1 of the train and recovered a large quantity of marijuana (86 packets worth Rs. 2.5 lakh approximately) from the water tank of the toilet.
Malda railway official Mr H Singh said that the packets of drug had probably been loaded from the car shed.