In brief

5-year-old girl’s body found
The body of a 5-year-old girl,Naed Jhumjhum,was found at the terrace of a multi-storey housing complex near Kolkata Race Course late on Tuesday night. The girl used to stay with her parents in the servant’s quarter of the residential complex and was missing for two days. A police officer said that preliminary investigation suggested that the girl might have been murdered.

Mamata visits Burn,announces bonus
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday visited Burn Standard,which was recently handed over to her ministry. “I request the employees to work overtime and make the delivery on time,” Banerjee said,while placing an additional order for 500 wagons. She also announced bonus for the employees. She also said that another wagon manufacturing unit will be set up in Kulti.

Meanwhile,Maoists kill Class X student
Jhargram: A Class X student was killed allegedly by Maoists at Jamirdiha village in West Midnapore district. Police said the bullet-ridden body of Phulchand Mahato wearing school uniform was found on the side of Kasmar canal on Tuesday morning. The Maoists had left a poster at the spot claiming Phulchand was a police informer. Mahto left Banspahari High School on Monday afternoon. When he didn’t return home,his family lodged a missing report.

Suspension of night runs of trains extended to July 5
The night services of passenger trains on the Kharagpur-Tatanagar stretch in the Maoist-affected areas will remain suspended till July 5. The decision was taken at a meeting of Railways and state government officials on Tuesday. Apart from increasing the number of CRPF personnel patrolling the tracks,the railways called for introducing mine-resistant coaches which will carry jawans on passenger trains.

Chief Secy debunks Buddha’s claim on Bengal’s numero uno position
What Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had claimed at a public rally two weeks ago,it was denied by Chief Secretary Ardhendu Sen on Tuesday when the latter said the rice productivity in the state is lower than that of many other states in the country. Speaking at an interactive session organised by Bharat Chamber of Commerce in Kolkata,Sen said: “While productivity in rice in West Bengal is 2.5 tonne per hectare,in Tamil Nadu it is 3.2 per hectare. We need to fill up the gap.” The chief minister have always claimed that West Bengal topped the states so far as production of rice was concerned.

Treat PTTI students under ‘special category’: High Court tells state
The Calcutta High Court has directed the state government to consider PTTI trainees under a ‘special category’ in the selection of primary teachers in West Bengal. Delivering the verdict on Tuesday,Justice Biswanath Somadder said the decision has to be implemented in the next eight weeks. The order brings respite to nearly 9,000 PTTI trainees in the state who are yet to be absorbed as primary teachers. The earlier recruitment process had allowed for 22 additional marks for PTTI trainees in the recruitment process. In 2008,however,a High Court order termed all PTTI training institutes and the degrees they offered as invalid. The PTTI trainees had since been presurising the government to give them an extra weightage in the recruitment process.