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Another round of district bifurcation in Bengal likely next year

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Mamta Banerjee

Speculation is rife that West Bengal is heading for a fresh round of district bifurcation by 2023.

Reportedly a brainchild of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the preparatory planning for this proposed fresh district bifurcation has already started and the plan is currently restricted among a selected members of the cabinet and the top bureaucrats of the state. Although none of the top cabinet members and bureaucrats were willing to make any official comment on this matter, highly placed sources said if the fresh bifurcation is done the total number of districts in West Bengal will increase to 27 from the existing 23.

The planned three new districts will be forked out of the two big districts of North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas. To recall, the two existing districts of North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas were formed by bifurcating the erstwhile undivided 24 Parganas district on March 1, 1980.

A state government official, aware of the planning on the formation of the three new districts, told IANS on condition of anonymity, that the proposed three districts would be Sunderbans, Basirhat and Alipur.

Of the three, the formation of Sunderbans district will be the most complicated process and it will have to be formed by forking out pockets from both North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas district. According to him, the proposed Sunderbans district might be forked out mainly out of Gosaba, Basanti and Kultali areas in South 24 Parganas district as well as Hingalganj and Sandeshkhali blocks in the current North 24 Parganas district.

The state government official also said that the formation process of the planned Basirhat and Alipur districts will be comparatively simple. Alipur might be formed with the pockets forked out of the Kolkata adjacent pockets in South 24 Parganas districts as well as the Assembly constituencies under Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency, where from the MP is the Trinamool Congress’s national general secretary and the chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee.

On the other hand, the state government official said the proposed Basirhat district would be formed from pockets forked out of the existing Basirhat and Bangaon sub-divisions in North 24 Parganas district.

Since 1980, West Bengal has witnessed district bifurcations for seven times, out of which three developments were during the previous Left Front regime and four developments took place during the current Trinamool Congress regime.

The first event of district bifurcation in the state was on March 1, 1980 when the previous Left Front government was in force with late nonagenarian Indian Marxist, Jyoti Basu as the state chief minister.

The second phase of district bifurcation was on April 1, 1992, when the erstwhile West Dinajpur district was bifurcated into the existing North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur districts. At that point of time the Jyoti Basu-led Left Front government was in power in the state.

The third phase of bifurcation was on January 1, 2002, when the undivided Midnapore district was divided into the existing two districts of East Midnapore and West Midnapore. Mamata Banerjee’s predecessor, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was the chief minister of West Bengal then.

On June 25, 2014, when the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress regime came to power, the new Alipurduar district was formed by bifurcating Jalpaiguri district.

Again, on February 14, 2017, the hill district of Kalimpong was formed by bifurcating the Darjeeling district.

On April 4, 2017, the formation of the new Jhargram district was formed by bifurcating the West Midnapore district.

Finally, on April 7, 2017, two districts of West Burdwan and East Burdwan were created by bifurcating the erstwhile undivided Burdwan district.

Commenting on the practical justification of the bifurcation of districts, senior political analyst and former registrar of Calcutta University, Raja Gopal Dhar Chakraborty told IANS that formation of smaller districts through bifurcation of bigger districts is always a welcome move.

“First this will provide a relief to the common people from travelling long distances to reach government offices. Secondly, formation of new districts means creation of new government offices which enhances the scope of fresh employment. However, at the same time, I would also like to say that like the formation of new and smaller districts I also do not find any harm in creation of new and smaller states through bifurcation of bigger states. There might be some sentimental issues involved with the bifurcation of states but creation of smaller states enhances administrative advantage,” Dhar Chakraborty said.

Crime

Bengaluru Police file FIR against Air Force officer in road rage case

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Bengaluru, April 22: The Bengaluru Police lodged an FIR against an Indian Air Force officer on Tuesday in connection with a road rage incident involving him and a bike rider.

The case was registered under the jurisdiction of the Byappanahalli police station. The FIR has been filed against Wing Commander Shiladitya Bose. Earlier, the bike rider, Vikas Kumar, was arrested in connection with the case. The incident came to light after Bose uploaded a video on social media claiming he was attacked by a local youth for not speaking in Kannada.

However, later CCTV footage revealed Bose overpowering the bike rider, banging, kicking, and punching him.

The FIR has been filed under IPC Sections 109 (attempt to murder), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 304 (snatching forcefully), 324 (mischief), and 352 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace).

The complaint was lodged by Vikas Kumar, a call centre employee. According to him, while he was returning a friend’s bike, a car touched his vehicle. “When I questioned why they hit the bike, the officer kicked it. When I objected, he continuously assaulted me. When I tried to call my friend, he snatched my phone and threw it. He also threw away the bike keys and attempted to choke me,” Kumar alleged.

The incident escalated after Kannada organisations condemned the officer’s video and the alleged assault, criticising him for giving the issue a Kannada versus Hindi language twist. After Kumar’s arrest, they also slammed the police for taking one-sided action.

DCP East D. Devaraju had stated earlier that the incident occurred around 6 a.m. on Monday while the Air Force officer was travelling from DRDO Quarters to the Bengaluru International Airport. “An altercation broke out between the officer, his wife, and the biker. His wife, Squadron Leader Madhumita Das, was driving the car. The situation escalated, and we have CCTV footage along with videos taken by bystanders,” he said.

“It’s a clear case of road rage. Both parties could have avoided the incident. Around 6.30 a.m., they came to the police station, and the SHO advised them to seek first aid as they were bleeding,” he added.

He also stated that Bose had left for the airport due to a delay. “Once he went live on social media, we traced the details and contacted Madhumita Das at the DRDO quarters. She later came to the police station and filed a complaint. This is a clear road rage incident,” DCP Devaraju reiterated.

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Crime

ED raids 16 locations in Bihar, Jharkhand in connection with 117 acre land scam

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Ranchi, April 22: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday carried out searches at 16 locations across Jharkhand and Bihar in connection with an alleged money laundering case linked to a massive land scam involving 117 acres of forest land in Bokaro.

The raids began early in the morning and were spread across Ranchi, Bokaro, and Ramgarh in Jharkhand, as well as some locations in Bihar.

The operation is part of the ED’s ongoing probe into illegal land transactions and suspected laundering of proceeds from the sale and purchase of forest land.

The case, originally registered at the Sector-12 police station in Bokaro earlier this year, pertains to the alleged illegal transfer and sale of approximately 117 acres of forest land. The Jharkhand CID had initially taken up the investigation, which revealed major irregularities.

The Crime Investigation Department (CID) of the Jharkhand Police, also probing the 2022 forest land scam, found that 74.38 acres of land belonging to the Forest Department in Bokaro were illegally allotted to a private company by administrative officials.

According to CID findings, the land mafia in alleged collusion with some personnel of Bokaro Steel Limited (BSL) tampered with land records. It was further discovered that the land in question had not been properly handed over to the Forest Department by BSL, which created loopholes exploited by the accused parties for illegal transactions.

Following the revelations, the case was handed over to the ED for investigation under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Sources indicate that the ED is likely to summon and question several individuals, including officials from the Forest Department and BSL, in connection with the case.

The agency is also examining financial trails to ascertain how the proceeds from the land transactions were laundered and who the key beneficiaries were.

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Business

Chhattisgarh CM to showcase new industrial policy during his two-day Mumbai visit

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Mumbai, April 22: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai will be on a two-day visit to Mumbai from Wednesday, where he will participate in two major national events, including the CMAI Fab Show and the India Steel 2025.

During these events, he will present Chhattisgarh’s new industrial policy, its investment potential and infrastructure vision before leading industrialists and policymakers from across the country.

According to the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister’s office, CM Sai will take part in the Fab Show on April 23, organised by the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI). This annual event brings together leaders from garment manufacturing, exports, and branding. The chief minister will highlight the incentives and opportunities available for the textile sector under Chhattisgarh’s new industrial policy. Several major companies are also expected to sign MoUs for investment in the state during this event.

On April 24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the ‘India Steel 2025’ event via video conferencing. CM Sai will also address the inaugural session as the Chief Guest. On this platform, he will present the highlights of Chhattisgarh’s new industrial policy, infrastructure readiness for the steel sector and the state’s long-term development vision.

On the same day, a Chhattisgarh Roundtable Meeting will also be held, where the CM will engage in direct dialogue with potential investors. The discussion will focus on specially developed industrial clusters for the steel sector, logistics infrastructure, single-window clearances, and labour-friendly policies.

CM Sai will also visit the Chhattisgarh State Pavilion set up at the Bombay Exhibition Centre. This pavilion will showcase the state’s robust industrial infrastructure, business-friendly environment, and emerging investment opportunities — aiming to attract national and international investors.

This is CM Sai’s second visit to the financial capital of the country since January this year. During that visit, Chhattisgarh had attracted investment worth Rs 6,000 crore in a range of sectors, including plastic, textile, cement, IT and food processing. He had told the investors that since the launch of the new industrial policy last year, the state had attracted investments of Rs one lakh crore. He had told the investors that the process of no-objection certificates had been streamlined, and clearances were now processed through a single window system.

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