National News
CM Mamata Banerjee apprehends more central agency actions in Bengal before 2026 Assembly polls (Ld)
Kolkata, Feb 27: Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Thursday, expressed apprehension that there might be enhanced actions by different Central investigative agencies in the state before the 2026 Assembly elections.
Without directly naming the BJP, she accused the central ruling party of activating the agencies against the Trinamool Congress before any election.
“Before any election, they fix their targets on whom to be arrested or against whom charge sheets have to be filed or whom to be branded as a thief. They are simply shameless. They are yet to solve the case on R.G. Kar,” the Chief Minister said while addressing the organisation’s mega meeting here on Thursday afternoon.
Speaking on the occasion, she also blamed the Union government for the latter’s alleged inability to convince the Union government not to send back Indians in chained conditions. “When they are sending back our Indian brothers and sisters in chained conditions, you were holding meetings with them. Why could you not convince them so that they do not send Indians back in such conditions and arrange for their return to India respectfully, as the Colombian government had done? Why is the Indian government not sending airplanes to the US to bring Indians back and also assure them jobs in the country?” the Chief Minister questioned.
Addressing the organisational meeting, the Chief Minister also advised the party leaders to fully cooperate with political strategist Prashant Kishor-founded Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), with whom Trinamool Congress has a campaign-strategy assistance arrangement since the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections.
“The leaders will have to listen to the advice of I-PAC. They will have to cooperate with I-PAC. Stop making negative comments about the organisation,” the Chief Minister said.
Her observations in the matter come at a time when a section of the Trinamool Congress leadership had been making negative public statements against I-PAC from open forums as well as to the media.
The CM also claimed that an online agency appointed by the BJP has become active in West Bengal these days to misappropriate the voter list so that voters from other states can vote in the 2026 Assembly elections.
“As far as the information gathered by me, the two agencies which have been appointed for that purpose are the Association of Brilliant Minds and Company India 360. These agencies reached out to the data entry operators. They did this in association with some errant block-level returning officers. They are linking the names of voters from other states with the EPIC number of voters in West Bengal,” the Chief Minister said.
The Chief Minister also said she has noticed specific instances of voters from other states, like Haryana, Gujarat, Bihar, Punjab, and Rajasthan. “The maximum are from Haryana and Gujarat,” she said.
She also said the same misappropriations were done before the elections in states like Delhi, Maharashtra and Haryana, which helped the BJP to win there. “The other parties there were unable to catch the trick. But we in Bengal have been able to identify the trick well in advance, and hence we will never allow the plot to be successful here,” the Chief Minister said. Thereafter, she announced the formation of district-level core committees of her party whose only task will be to identify such alleged misappropriations at the respective districts.
“These district-level core committees will send the reports from their respective districts to a centralized committee created for that purpose, which will be headed by the party’s state president in West Bengal, Subrata Bakshi. The task of identifying the bogus voters will have to be completed within the next 10 days. If the said committee fails in the task, then I will myself identify the bogus voters,” the Chief Minister said.
General
Woman, two children die after jumping into well in MP’s Ratlam

Ratlam : A woman and her two children died after allegedly jumping into a well in Meena Kheda village under the Industrial Area police station limits in Jaora town of Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam district on Saturday, the police said.
The incident reportedly took place around 10 a.m.
All three died, and their bodies were retrieved from the well with the help of local villagers and taken to the government hospital in Jaora for post-mortem examination.
According to information from the spot, around 50 villagers gathered after learning about the incident and joined the efforts to retrieve the woman and her children.
After pulling them out of the well, the villagers arranged a vehicle and shifted them to the hospital.
Yuvraj Singh Chauhan, Jaora Circle Superintendent of Police, confirmed that the bodies of a woman and her two children were found in a well in Meena Kheda village.
“The bodies have been kept for post-mortem examination, and we are waiting for their family members to arrive,” Chauhan said.
He said further details about the incident would be established after the family members arrived and the investigation progressed.
A local resident said that villagers helped retrieve the three bodies and take them to the hospital.
“With the cooperation of the villagers, they were pulled out, placed in a vehicle and brought to the civil hospital,” the resident said.
The reason behind the incident is yet to be ascertained.
Police are investigating the circumstances that led the woman and her children to enter the well.
Their identities and other family details have not been officially disclosed so far.
The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination, and further details are awaited.
General
Woman, lover conspire to kill husband for Rs 40,000 in Patna : three held

Patna : Police have solved the murder of Irfan Imam, alias Kallu Driver, in Simri village within 36 hours, uncovering an alleged conspiracy involving his wife and her lover. In a shocking revelation, police said the deceased’s wife, Neha Parveen, alias Fauzia Firdaus, allegedly conspired with her lover to eliminate her husband. She paid Rs 40,000 to arrange a contract killer. More surprisingly, the money was withdrawn from her husband’s own bank account.
Police have arrested the deceased’s wife, her alleged lover Karan Chaudhary and a minor in connection with the murder. However, the shooter who allegedly carried out the killing is still absconding. Danapur Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Amarendra Kumar Jha said that a special investigation team was constituted under the leadership of Bihta Station House Officer (SHO) Amit Kumar following the murder. The team launched an investigation based on technical inputs and other evidence. During the investigation, the police took Neha Parveen into custody for questioning. Her questioning provided crucial leads, following which Karan Chaudhary, son of Pramod Chaudhary and a resident of Simri village, and a minor, were arrested. According to the police, Neha and Karan had allegedly been in a relationship for the past three years, and Irfan was an obstacle to their relationship. The two allegedly hatched a conspiracy to eliminate him.
As part of the plan, Karan allegedly hired a shooter for Rs 40,000, with the money provided by Neha. Police said she withdrew the amount from her husband’s bank account to finance the murder. An advance payment of Rs 20,000 was allegedly given to the shooter, while the remaining amount was to be paid after the murder. DSP Jha said the conspiracy came to light during the questioning of the accused, particularly Karan. Police have also recovered the motorcycle allegedly used in the crime. However, the main shooter remains absconding, and the weapon used in the murder has not yet been recovered. Police teams are conducting raids at suspected hideouts to arrest the absconding accused and recover the weapon. Police expressed confidence that the shooter would be arrested soon. The case was cracked within 36 hours of the murder, bringing relief to the investigating team.
National News
‘PM doesn’t do it’: Sam Pitroda on Rahul Gandhi’s phone tap claim

New Delhi : Close to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, alleging phone tapping by the Central government, his party colleague and Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress Sam Pitroda appeared to differ with him, saying “PM doesn’t do it”.
Eighty-four-year-old Pitroda, in an interview with NDTV, not only distanced himself from Gandhi’s claim but also appeared to defend Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the controversial allegation made by the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
The technology expert said that he doesn’t believe the PM does it. “PM doesn’t do that. PM doesn’t take a screwdriver and get on a computer,” Pitroda said, adding that he has good reason to believe that his own phone was also tapped.
“My phone is tapped, my laptop is attacked, my bank accounts are under surveillance. I have consulted experts, and they have, after examining my devices, cautioned me about tapping,” Pitroda said, refusing to name who he believed tapped his phone.
On Friday, Gandhi claimed that the proof of PM Modi being under the control of “foreign powers” is already on his phone, and as such, the PM already knows what the proof is, as the latter taps his phone.
Pitroda, officially known as Satyanarayan Gangaram Pitroda, has been in the news for his recent exchange of festive wishes with PM Modi, prompting clarification that the two Gujaratis bond well.
Pitroda is a telecom inventor, entrepreneur, development thinker, and policymaker who has spent 50 years in information and communications technology (ICT). He is also credited with having laid the foundation for India’s telecommunications and technology revolution of the 1980s.
Soon after Gandhi alleged phone tapping, the BJP hit back by recalling the alleged surveillance of senior ministers during the UPA regime, while the Congress has demanded an investigation to establish the truth.
BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi took a dig at the Congress, recalling the controversy surrounding alleged surveillance of senior ministers during the UPA government’s tenure.
The controversy regarding the surveillance or bugging of senior ministers during the UPA regime centres primarily around an incident involving the then-Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in 2011.
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