Esha Roy

The eight JJBOPRC members who fought the election were the ones who had filed their nominations via WhatsApp. The SEC had accepted their nominations after the HC’s directive.

The compensation, to be given by the State Legal Services Authority (SLSA), is to be handed over within ten days of the order.

West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had announced that his party intended to unite all non-TMC, non-BJP parties in the state. He said a decision had been taken after a meeting with all Congress MLAs and district leaders.

The disbursement is pursuant to a Supreme Court order passed last month that directed four states — Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal — to ensure that payment is made to workers in their tea gardens.

The Trinamool has won three gram sabha seats, a panchayat samiti and one zila parishad seat.

Former Manipur Chief Minister and CLP leader Okram Ibobi Singh has sought an appointment with the Manipur Governor on Friday to demand the dissolution of the present government based on the developments which has taken place in Karnataka.

"The situation is under control right now; we are patrolling. We have detained a couple of people. Voters have nothing to fear," Additional SP (Baruipur) Sandeep Mondal said.

As reports of violence breaking out at several quarters continued to pour in throughout the day, opposition parties accused the TMC of unleashing a reign of terror and destroying democracy.

The State Election Commission has said that every polling booth will have an armed police personnel along with a constable on Monday. The Trinamool Congress has won 34 per cent of the seats uncontested, a figure large enough to invite the Supreme Court ire, which has withheld announcement of their results.

Deaths and the bombs are nothing new to the region where families are thrown asunder by the “andolan” — agitation against the state government’s move to acquire land for a power project.

The villagers were allegedly attacked by TMC strongman and panchayat sabhapati Aribul Islam and his men with “bombs and bullets’’. Mollah was hit by a bullet on his upper lip.

As 28-year-old Hafizul’s body arrived in Bhangar’s Natunhati Bazaar Chowk on Saturday evening, someone threw water on small balls found in the nearby compound of Arabul Islam.

The clashes that followed at Mohammad Bazaar were recorded, and have since gone viral on social media. The villagers clashed with TMC workers and police. Thousands of them descended on Mohammad Bazaar with lathis and large rocks.

Bar Association of Calcutta president Uttam Kumar Majumdar said that in a meeting on April 3, the lawyers decided to extend the strike till April 19.

“We are being harassed because we are their (TMC’s) biggest threat right now,” claimed Pankaj Sardar, 37, a BJP supporter and a first-time aspirant for panchayat polls. “If we were allowed to contest, we would have won all seats.”

The ongoing ceasework by over 5,000 advocates demanding that the Centre address the shortage of judges at Calcutta High Court sheds light on an issue plaguing the judiciary for several years now. Unresolved, it has now led to the court functioning with less than 50 per cent of its sanctioned strength of judges

Under the programme, a dominant female elephant will be identified. “After she is tranquilised, we will put a radio collar on her. She will then be released back to her herd. The radio will send a signal to a satellite which will enable us to track the movement of the herd," a wildlife official said.

Sabir Ahmed, a researcher involved in the study, says: “Apart from the obvious benefits... we were very surprised to find some unexpected effects. Because the scheme is one of universal coverage, it has created a feeling of inclusiveness and solidarity — irrespective of community.

General secretary of the rival faction Anit Thapa said that he has been receiving calls from GJM leaders and cadres in Gurung faction after the verdict.