Kolkata Mar 18 PTI BJP leader Kalyan Chaubey on Friday alleged that he came under attack from TMC activists in Bengals Purba Bardhaman district A police officer said Chaubey was on his way to a temple in Masagram area when his car was intercepted by unknown people at Jamalpur railway crossingOn getting information a police team reached the spot and managed to escort them out of the melee the officer said adding that the matter was being investigatedChaubey later told reporters that his car and another vehicle both carrying BJP flags were attacked by around 20 people who banged on the windshields shouting anti-BJP slogansHe alleged local TMC workers wanted to assault him as they are wary of the BJPA district TMC leader however claimed his party workers had nothing to do with the incidentBJP and its leaders have no importance in West Bengal They pose no threat to us Why should the TMC stop Kalyan Choubey PTI SUS RMS RMS

Kolkata Feb 25 PTI Many students from Bengal studying in professional colleges in Ukraine are stuck in the war-hit country and have sought the assistance of the central and state governments for their safe return The total number of students from the state studying in higher education institutes in the east European country is however not yet known and is being assessed a state government official said Arkoprobho Baidya and Brijesh Ghosh from Raidighi and Barasat in South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas districts respectively have taken shelter in the basement of Kyiv Medical College where they are first year students The two along with other students from the state and elsewhere in India said they were asked to move in there on Thursday when sounds of bombing began to be heard intermittently in nearby areas We are very worried We have been asked to stay here We were told by the Indian embassy that they were trying to ensure our safe passage We go out when there is a lull to buy essentials for which we have to pay very high rates they said Both are in contact with their families as the internet connection is working in their place Dipak Sarkar and Bibhas Haldar two computer science students of an engineering institute at Kharkiv town in northeast Ukraine said as shelling increased they along with more than 100 other Indian students were shifted to the Indian embassy and housed in an underground bunker Our plea to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is please facilitate our early evacuation and return to our country the two students who hail from Kalna in Purba Bardhaman district said The embassy has not given any update about the possible day of their safe passage the two said Twins Rumki and Jhumki Bandopadhyay from Durgapur freshmen at a medical college are stranded in Kharkiv for the past two days Images sent by them have upset their family members back home We only want our daughters to return They had gone there only in December and were settling well But things turned bad since Thursday their mother said fighting to hold back her tears Arkoprobhos father Palash Baidya said he and wife could not sleep at night due to anxiety They have sought financial help from the central and state governments for the safe return of their only child and requested for all initiatives to facilitate it Bidya said he took great pains to get his soon admitted in Ukraine Medical College with his modest income Puspak Sarnakar of Sonarpur a fifth year student of Ternopil State Medical University in Ukraine said though he had booked an air ticket for February 26 it will be cancelled in all probability Ukraine has closed its airspace to civilian flights after Russia began military action in the country It cited a high risk to flight safety due to the use of weapons and military equipment The border with Poland and other east European countries is 500-600 km from this place Ternopil The transport system has virtually collapsed and the few passenger vehicles plying on the road are demanding very high fares which is beyond the students financial means Puspak said Russia mounted air strikes on Ukraine its neighbour on February 24 causing human casualties and damage to properties West Bengal government announced the opening of a control room which will function for 12 hours every day to help the stranded students and their families PTI SUS KK KK KK

Kolkata Dec 22 PTI West Bengals COVID-19 tally rose to 1628464 on Wednesday as 534 more people tested positive for the infection a health bulletin said The states coronavirus death toll rose to 19696 as eight more patients succumbed to the infection it said Kolkata and its neighbouring North 24 Parganas district reported three fresh fatalities each while Hooghly and Purba Bardhaman registered one death each The state now has 7442 active cases while 1601326 people have recovered from the disease so far including 535 in the last 24 hours it said adding that the discharge rate stood at 9833 per cent The administration has thus far tested over 210 crore samples for COVID-19 including 36370 samples in the last 24 hours it added PTI SCH ACD ACD

Kolkata Nov 24 PTI The positivity rate of Covid-19 infections in West Bengal continues to be 2 per cent or above it for the past three days while the state recorded 803 new cases and 12 fresh fatalities due to the disease on Wednesday the health department said in a bulletinThe cumulative death toll and tally went up to 19419 and 1611983 respectivelyThe bulletin said Wednesdays positivity rate is 206 per cent marginally up from the previous days count of 2 per cent The figure was 234 per cent on November 22The state conducted 39019 tests on Wednesday 3005 more than the previous days figure according to the bulletinA total of 20110616 samples have been tested in West Bengal so far it said It recorded 803 new cases of Covid-19 infection on Wednesday as against 720 on Tuesday Kolkata recorded the highest number of positive cases in the state at 247 increasing from 211 on Tuesday The metropolis is followed by North 24 Parganas 145 South 24 Parganas 62 Howrah 61 and Hooghly 57 districts Of the 12 deaths in the state four was recorded in Kolkata while North 24 Parganas and Nadia followed with two each a bulletin said South 24 Parganas Purba Bardhaman Jalpaiguri and Malda districts reported one death each it said As 811 Covid-19 patients were discharged on Wednesday the recovery rate stood at 9831 per cent Altogether 1584670 people have so far been cured of the disease the bulletin said The number of active cases on Wednesday fell to 7894 from 7914 the previous day PTI AMR NN NN

Kolkata Nov 24 PTI The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday granted bail to BJP leader Rakesh Singh who was arrested by the city police in connection with a drug-related case A division bench comprising justices Arijit Banerjee and B Pattanayak asked Singh to furnish a bail bond of Rs two lakh -- four sureties of Rs 50000 each The Kolkata Police had on February 23 arrested Singh who is also a leader of many workers unions in the citys port area in connection with his alleged involvement in a drug recovery case BJP state youth leader Pamela Goswami who was earlier held following alleged seizure of contraband from her car had claimed that it was a conspiracy hatched by Singh He was apprehended from a vehicle while travelling on the Kolkata-Delhi national highway at Galsi in Purba Bardhaman district of West Bengal Praying for bail Singhs counsel Rajdeep Majumdar submitted before the court that there was no drug recovered from the possession of the accused He also submitted that the prosecution has not been able to provide any proof of conspiracy The prosecution lawyers opposed the bail prayer of Singh claiming that he harboured criminals to plant the contraband and implicate innocent persons Hearing both the parties the court granted bail to Singh PTI AMR RMS RMS

Kolkata Oct 22 PTI West Bengals COVID-19 cases surged for the third day on trot with 846 more people testing positive for the disease while 12 fresh fatalities pushed the toll to 19033 a bulletin by the state health department said Of the 846 cases 242 were recorded in the metropolis North 24 Parganas district accounted for four deaths Kolkata for three and Hooghly for two One each fatality was registered in South 24 Parganas Purba Bardhaman and Birbhum The positivity rate improved to 210 per cent from Thursdays 252 per cent the bulletin said Since Thursday 792 recoveries were logged in the state which raised the total number of those cured of the disease to 1557882 The discharge rate stood 9832 per cent Bengal currently has 7577 active cases As many as 18842408 samples have been tested thus far including 40303 since Thursday the bulletin added PTI SCH RMS RMS

New Delhi [India], August 28 (ANI): A 22-year-old man who was beaten up by alleged Trinamool Congress workers, during post-poll violence in Purba Bardhaman district of West Bengal succumbed to injuries during treatment at a hospital, as per an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).