West Bengal

India: 19 held for duping foreigners via fake call centres

Kolkata, Jul 2 (PTI) Kolkata Police arrested 19 people for allegedly duping citizens of foreign countries, particularly of Australia, through illegal call centres, an official said on Friday.

During a raid conducted late Thursday night, the police arrested these people who were working in different illegal call centres in the satellite township of Salt Lake, he said.

India: Bengal Governor corrupt, should be removed: Mamata

Kolkata, Jun 28 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday called Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar a "corrupt man" and questioned the purpose of his recent tour of North Bengal, alleging that a conspiracy was being hatched to divide the northern part of the state.

Banerjee also said she has written multiple letters to the Centre, seeking Dhankhar's removal.

India: BJP's north Bengal leader, seven others join TMC

Kolkata, Jun 21 (PTI) In yet another jolt to the BJP, the party's Alipurduar district president, Ganga Prasad Sharma, joined the TMC on Monday, as senior leader of the state's ruling party Mukul Roy, who also switched sides two weeks ago, claimed that this was the "beginning of the saffron party's end" in the state.

Seven other BJP leaders from the region, too, followed in Sharma's footsteps and joined the Mamata Banerjee camp.

India: Mamata condemns Centre's efforts to 'control' Twitter

Kolkata, June 17 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday slammed the BJP-led union government over its "efforts to control" Twitter and claimed that the Centre, having failed to influence the microblogging platform, is now trying to bulldoze it.

Drawing a parallel, Banerjee said her government, too, was being meted out the same treatment by the Centre.

India: Farmer leaders to meet Mamata for support

Kolkata, Jun 9 (PTI) Farmer leaders led by Rakesh Tikait and Yudhvir Singh of the Bharatiya Kisan Union will be meeting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday to elicit her support for the ongoing farmers' stir against the new agriculture laws and for a Minimum Support Price for farm produce.

Banerjee's support for the agitation which has drawn on the farmer community in rural north India, is being viewed as a potential booster which has been flagging in recent weeks.

India: 20 killed in lightning strikes in Bengal

Kolkata, Jun 7 (PTI) At least 20 persons were killed in lightning strikes in three districts of south Bengal on Monday, a state disaster management official said.

Nine persons died in Murshidabad, nine persons were killed in Hooghly and two others lost their lives in Purba Medinipur district, the official said.

Three more persons were also injured in lightning strikes in the Murshidabad district and were admitted to the Jangipur hospital for treatment, he said.

India: TMC will likely leave decision of `Ghar Wapsi' of turncoats who joined BJP to Mamata

Kolkata, Jun 4 (PTI) Trinamool Congress leadership is yet to take a call on ghar wapsi (return home) by former TMC leaders who had joined the BJP ahead of the recently concluded assembly elections which the Mamata Banerjee-led party swept.

Top TMC sources said Banerjee, who is the party supremo, will take a final call on allowing those TMC men and women who had crossed over to the saffron party, re-entry into party.

India: TMC turncoat MLA who joined BJP wants to comeback

Kolkata, May 31 (PTI) With the TMC having emerged victorious with a thumping majority in the recently concluded West Bengal assembly elections, turncoats who had quit the party to join the BJP seem to be making a beeline for re-entry into the Mamata Banerjee camp, the latest being Dipendu Biswas.

Biswas, who had switched sides after his name did not feature in the TMC's candidate list for the assembly polls, has expressed his desire to return to the ruling party in the state.

India: Dhankhar to attend Modi-Mamata meeting to review Yaas devastation

Kolkata, May 28 (PTI) West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar will attend a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to review the devastation caused by cyclone Yaas, officials said.

The meeting is scheduled to be held at Kalaikunda in Paschim Medinipur district on Friday afternoon after Modi undertakes an aerial survey of the affected areas, they said.

Dhankhar will receive the prime minister at the Kalaikunda Air Force Station, the officials said.

India: 'Yaas' intensifies into cyclonic storm, likely to cross Odisha-Bengal coasts on May 26

Bhubaneswar/Kolkata, May 24 (PTI) A deep depression over the Bay of Bengal has intensified into cyclonic storm 'Yaas' and is likely to cross the Odisha-West Bengal coasts on May 26 after turning into a very severe cyclonic storm, the MeT Department said on Monday.

'Yaas' is likely to cross the Odisha-West Bengal coasts between Paradip and Sagar Islands around noon on May 26 as a very severe cyclonic storm with wind speeds of 155-165 kmph, Kolkata's Regional Meteorological Centre Deputy Director Sanjib Bandopadhyay said.

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