Page 4 - Kolkata

Reliance Jio True 5G: What is it, availability, supported devices, and more

Reliance Jio is currently testing its 5G services in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Varanasi. It plans to roll out 5G services across India by the end of 2023

Grand carnival to showcase idols of top 95 Durga Pujas in Kolkata today

Idols of the top 95 Durga Pujas in Kolkata will be showcased at a grand carnival in the heart of the city on Saturday afternoon. The community puja committees will take part in a colourful parade on Red Road, showcasing the brilliant craftsmanship which was on display during the five-day festival before an audience led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, representatives of UNESCO, diplomats of different countries and others. UNESCO has accorded Intangible Heritage status to the city's Kolkata Durga puja. The carnival which will start at 4.30 pm will be bigger and better this year, officials said. The carnival in Kolkata is being organised annually since 2016, except for the last two years because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Such carnivals were organised in every district of the state this year to mark the UNESCO honour. However, no such programme was held in Jalpaiguri as the district mourned the deaths of eight people who were swept away by a flash flood in the Mal river during ...

Crowds brave rain to visit puja pandals on 'Maha Ashtami' across Bengal

Braving rain, crowds swelled at the ornate Durga Puja pandals on Monday evening in Kolkata and across West Bengal after the ritualistic pushpanjali' (floral offerings) to the Goddess by worshippers in the morning of 'Maha Ashtami'. Festive fervour oozed all-around in the brightly illuminated city as revellers attired in their best descended on the streets to visit popular puja pandals, with the number of people increasing manyfold in the evening. Following the Maha Ashtami puja in the early morning, worshippers gathered at their local puja pandals to offer 'pushpanjali' to Goddess Durga amid chanting of mantras (hymns) by the priest. A forecast of rain by the Met department failed to deter the revellers as they appreciated the intricate artworks at the pandals after two years of Covid pandemic-related health safety restrictions. All Durga Puja pandals in West Bengal had been made no-entry zones for members of the public in 2020 and 2021 on orders of the Calcutta High Court to curb

Gandhi look-alike 'Asura' idol at Kolkata puja pandal stokes controversy

A Durga idol in Kolkata in which the 'Mahisasura' was replaced by a crudely-crafted Mahatma Gandhi-look alike created controversy on the birth anniversary of the father of the nation. Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha, organisers of the puja near Ruby Crossing in southwest Kolkata, changed the appearance of the idol that looked like Gandhi following instructions from the police after a complaint was lodged. The organisers said the similarities were "just a coincidence". According to mythology, Goddess Durga slew Mahusasur in an epic battle to end his evil reign. "The Durga idol that was worshipped here initially had a Mahisasur whose face looked similar to that of Mahatma Gandhi. The similarities are just a coincidence. After photos of it went viral, a police team visited the pandal and asked us to change the face," Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha state working President Chandrachur Goswami told PTI on Sunday. A journalist had earlier in the day tweeted a photograph of the Durga ido

ED files complaint against DoT official in disproportionate assets case

The Enforcement Directorate has filed a prosecution complaint against a senior Department of Telecommunications officer and a few others before a special court in Kolkata under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a disproportionate assets case. The court has taken cognisance of the offence of money laundering in the prosecution complaint against Soumyendra Nath Banerjee, a former deputy director general, new technology, DoT, Kolkata, and a few others filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday, an ED statement said. The ED initiated money laundering investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the CBI, ACB, Kolkata for offences punishable under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. As per the charge-sheet filed by the CBI, ACB, Kolkata, Banerjee had allegedly amassed huge assets, beyond his known source of income, and was in a possession of disproportionate assets worth Rs 7.58 crore, the statement said. The ED investigation reveal

Kolkata gaming app: ED freezes crypto assets worth Rs 12.83 crore

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday said it has frozen bitcoins worth Rs 12.83 crore as part of an ongoing money laundering probe against the promoter of a Kolkata-based mobile gaming app firm that is alleged to have duped a number of people. Crypto currency worth 77.62710139 bitcoins is kept in the Binance crypto exchange and it belongs to a person named Aamir Khan who owns a mobile gaming application called E-Nuggets, the federal probe agency said in a statement. The ED had raided the premises of the company and that of Khan and his father Nesar Ahmed Khan in Kolkata early this month and seized Rs 17.32 crore cash from there. Aamir Khan was arrested by the detective department of the Kolkata Police from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh last week. The money laundering case stems from an FIR filed by the Kolkata Police against the company and its promoters in February 2021. This FIR was registered at the Park Street police station based on a complaint filed by the Federal Bank ...

Ex-Dy Registrar of Companies, 3 others arrested in Kolkata chit fund case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested then Deputy Registrar of Companies, Kolkata and three others in a case related to chit fund

Heavy rains may lash Kolkata during Durga Puja, organisers on tenterhooks

Durga Puja in Kolkata and southern West Bengal districts is likely to be rain-drenched this year with the Met department on Tuesday saying that a cyclonic circulation may form over northwest Bay of Bengal on October 1. Regional Met director GK Das said that the system is likely to cause heavy rain in Kolkata and other southern districts on October 2 -- Mahasaptami, the first day of the four-day festival. "Rainfall is likely on all four days of the festival, with heavier precipitation on October 2 and light to moderate rain till October 5 thereafter," Das said. The cyclonic circulation may intensify after formation on October 1, he said. The community puja organisers said they are taking all precautions to save the pandals and artwork. Bikash Majumder, the secretary of College Square Puja committee, said "We don't have control over nature but I am hopeful Maa Durga will ensure that we can celebrate the puja in a grand manner as in pre-pandemic times and there is no ...

CBI raids 3 places in Kolkata in financial embezzlement scam probe

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is conducting raids at three places in Kolkata on Tuesday in connection with its ongoing probe in a financial embezzlement scam.

Mamata asks mayor to rename Kolkata road, park after Pranab Mukherjee

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday directed Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim to rename a road and a park in the city after former president Pranab Mukherjee. Speaking at the inauguration of Chetla Agrani's Durga Puja pandal in south Kolkata, Banerjee remembered Mukherjee. "I will ask Bobby (Firhad Hakim) to name a road, even if small, and a small park in remembrance of Pranab Mukherjee," she said. She also remembered singers Sandhya Mukhopadhyay, Dwijen Mukhopadhyay and Nirmala Mishra, and asked the mayor to rename roads and parks after them. Banerjee said the Durga Puja festival has twin feathers on its crown this year -- Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO and Best Destination for Culture by a global organisation of travel writers. She said that these recognitions will show the path of peace and togetherness to the world. Banerjee said that it would also be the responsibility of community puja organisers to assist the police in crowd management. "As I had told Sujit (Bose),

CPI(M) to hold 'Insaaf' rally in Kolkata to seek justice for Anis Khan

Youth and student wings of CPI(M) will hold 'Insaaf' rally at Esplanade in the heart of Kolkata on Tuesday to seek justice for Anis Khan, a student leader who died mysteriously in February. The Left party's youth wing DYFI and students' body SFI will hold the rally which may cause traffic snarls. The 'Insaaf' (justice) rally will be attended by students, youths and people from various walks of life seeking justice for Anis Khan, a DYFI leader said. While Khan's father Salem has alleged that his son was assaulted and thrown over from the third floor of their house in Amta in Howrah district by people dressed in police and civic volunteer uniforms, the police have denied the allegation and claimed that he had fallen accidentally leading to his death on February 19. The Left parties have held several agitations since then over the incident.

Conversations on consent difficult for young Indians: Tinder survey

More than 65 per cent of those surveyed do not know how to give consent, how to ask for it or how to withdraw it when dating someone.

4 arrested for assaulting Kolkata police, torching vehicle during BJP rally

At least four people were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly assaulting a police officer and setting a police vehicle on fire in Kolkata during the BJP's rally, an official said. The arrests were made during night-long raids in Beliaghata, Topsia and Bowbazar areas, he said. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Debajit Chattopadhyay was chased and assaulted with sticks by some people in the Bowbazar area during the BJP's 'March to Nabanna' rally on Tuesday. A police vehicle was also torched near the Kolkata Police headquarters Lalbazar. "The raids are still going on," said an officer of Kolkata Police on Wednesday afternoon. The four arrested persons were identified from video clips of the two incidents, he said. They have been booked under sections dealing with attempt to murder, destruction of government property and preventing public servant from performing duty, the officer said. Chattopadhyay suffered multiple fractures and is at present undergoing treatment at a hospita

BJP's march to Bengal secretariat: Party workers torch car, clash with cops

Parts of Kolkata and Howrah district turned into a battlefield on Tuesday as BJP supporters clashed with the police while trying to get past barricades erected to prevent them from marching towards the West Bengal secretariat Nabanna'. A police vehicle was also set on fire during the march organised to protest against the alleged corrupt practices of the Trinamool Congress government. Several police officers and saffron camp members, including leaders Mina Devi Purohit and Swapan Dasgupta, were reportedly injured during the rally. A Kolkata Police officer said, "There was no report of any serious injury to any protestor though several police personnel have suffered injuries". While the BJP alleged that the Mamata Banerjee government does not want to give space to opposition parties, the TMC described the saffron camp workers as hooligans'. Sharing a video of people carrying BJP flags setting ablaze a police vehicle, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee tweeted, Today,

Kolkata streets turn into war zone as violence shrouds BJP's protest march

Roads around the 19th century iconic Howrah Station resembled a battleground on Tuesday with brickbats aimed at police personnel flying thick and fast, and drenched protesters hit by water cannons limping to the safety of nearby alleyways and shops. BJP agitators brought in by special trains for a protest march to the Bengal secretariat turned violent when they found roads leading to the state's seat of power barricaded by riot police. Dilip Biswas, 34, who had boarded one of the special trains to come to the metropolis from Andal, said, I never realised the protest march would turn into such a fierce combat... The police were relentless, while those in the crowd besides me were equally violent. I don't know who started throwing stones at the police, but after two officers went down like nine pins, they started firing water cannons, burst tear gas shells and lathicharged us. The protesters also hurled glass bottles at police personnel, while some of them were seen lifting tree logs

Rs 17 cr cash, 16 hours, 8 counting machines: Know about ED raid in Kolkata

It took over 16 hours and eight counting machines for the ED officials to count the heap of cash that was recovered from the residence of a businessman in Kolkata

ED raids Kolkata-based gaming app operator, recovers over Rs 17 cr cash

The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday seized Rs 17.32 crore in cash after it raided the promoters of a Kolkata-based mobile gaming app company as part of a money-laundering investigation, official sources said. The agency, the sources said, is looking at some "political links" of the app promoters and wants to ascertain the actual beneficiaries of this cash, even as it is investigating the possible routing of the funds spent by gullible gamers here through some "Chinese-controlled" entities. A photograph released by the federal agency showed multiple bundles of Rs 500 currency notes along with a few in the denomination of Rs 2,000, Rs 200 and Rs 100 stacked on a bed depicting the ED abbreviation. Official sources said the cash was recovered from a premise which has an address mentioned as 'F 7. N A Khan' and is located in the Garden Reach area of Kolkata. The ED was looking for the alleged prime accused in the case identified as Aamir Khan as he was not found at the premises that

ED raids several places in Kolkata, estimated Rs 7 crore recovered

ED teams conducted raids at three separate places in Kolkata and recovered a huge amount of cash from the possession of a city-based businessman

Mindtree planning to set up development centre in Kolkata, says CEO

Mindtree, a Larsen & Toubro Group company, is planning to set up a development centre in Kolkata, which could create employment opportunities for 15,000-20,000 people in the next four-five years, a company official said here on Wednesday. The IT services firm has already onboarded 1,700 people in its existing facility in the West Bengal capital so far, he said. "We have taken up 19 acres of space. Hopefully, things will start. The construction will be done by L&T... the management is committed. We will set up a huge centre," Mindtree Ltd Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Debashis Chatterjee said at ICT East organised by CII. The development centre can create employment opportunities for 15,000-20,000 people, he said. The IT company had in March announced the opening of its first development centre in Kolkata. Another IT company of the L&T group, Larsen and Toubro Infotech (LTI) had in June also announced opening up of a new centre in the eastern ...

CBI carries out search ops at primary education board's office in Kolkata

The CBI on Friday conducted search operations at the office of West Bengal Board of Primary Education as a part of their ongoing investigation into the alleged irregularities in teacher recruitment in state government-sponsored and aided schools, an agency official said. Sleuths of the agency, along with a data expert, raided the board's office here during the day and seized several documents, the official maintained. Earlier in the day, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court upheld an order of its single bench that directed the CBI to investigate the alleged irregularities in appointment of primary teachers in government-sponsored and -aided schools. The seized documents may be of relevance in the probe, the official added. WBBPE's former president Manik Bhattacharya, who is also an MLA of the ruling Trinamool Congress, is also under the scanner of the central agency.