Kolkata, August 9: Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday faced protests from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers and supporters while visiting the family of a Trinamool Congress worker who allegedly died in police custody in Kanchrapara of North 24 Parganas district.

Demonstrators surrounded Mamata Banerjee’s car, hurled mud and a torn slipper towards her, and shouted slogans calling her a “thief”.

Following the attack, the former West Bengal Chief Minister told media persons, “Large stones were hurled at my car by anti-social elements, right in front of the police. The attack on the vehicle was so severe that if the windows had been open, my head would have been split open. We could have all been killed. This happened right in front of the police. I have never seen anything like this. What is going on? The police are providing protection to the BJP.”

The BJP alleged that the former Chief Minister had come to Kanchrapara to incite trouble and that ordinary citizens were protesting against it.

On the other hand, Mamata Banerjee lashed out at the BJP-led state government and targeted Police Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who is also the Chief Minister of West Bengal.

The Trinamool Congress supremo alleged that the BJP orchestrated the incident using their “goons”.

“Forget about security; the police are protecting lumpens! Bengal has fallen into the hands of lumpens. We will file a case,” she said.

The three-time former Chief Minister Banerjee claimed that large bricks were thrown at her car.

“My head could have been split open; I could have died here. The police are protecting the BJP,” she complained.

Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee and Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen accompanied Mamata Banerjee. They too vented their anger against the current BJP administration after facing the protests.

Kalyan Banerjee said, ” Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari is running his rule through the police and getting work done by the mafia.”

Police had to surround the former Chief Minister’s car as it passed through the roads of Bijpur in the same district.

The husband of the former Trinamool Congress Councillor of Kanchrapara Municipality in North 24 Parganas district died in police custody, the family alleged on Saturday.

The deceased’s name is Birju Keot. His wife Jenny Sharma Keot, the former Trinamool Councillor of Ward number 23 of Kanchrapara Municipality, alleged that her husband died after being beaten up in the jail.

There was no reaction from the police in connection with this incident.

The deceased Trinamool worker’s family on Saturday alleged that Birju was tortured in police custody after Friday midnight.

Jenny also alleged that her husband was beaten with his hands and feet tied.

A source from Halishahar police station said that Birju was found lying ill in the jail on after Friday midnight. He was rushed to Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital in Nadia district’s Kalyani where the doctors declared him dead.

Initial speculation is that he may have died of a heart attack. However, the real cause of death is not yet certain.

It is also not known whether there are any injury marks on his body.

The cause of death will be clear only after the autopsy report is received, a police source said.

After meeting the Keot family on Sunday, Mamata Banerjee remarked, “There is no such thing as law and order left in this state.”

New Delhi, Aug 9: The Rajasthan Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has detained a youth identified as Wasit from Tonk over suspected links with a terrorist organisation, sources said on Sunday, even as the security agencies step up scrutiny of possible terror networks operating in the state.

According to sources, Wasit was taken to Jaipur for questioning and may subsequently be brought to Delhi for further interrogation. Investigators are also examining whether he was in contact with a handler allegedly linked to the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

ATS teams also conducted searches at Wasit’s residence in Tonk as part of the investigation. During the search, officials are learnt to have seized digital devices and details relating to bank accounts and financial transactions, sources said.

The material recovered during the searches is likely to be examined as investigators seek to establish the nature and extent of the suspected links. Officials are also expected to scrutinise the digital communications and financial records for any possible connection with individuals or networks associated with the banned terror organisation.

There has been no official confirmation from the Rajasthan ATS regarding Wasit’s detention or the specific allegations against him so far. The investigation is underway, and the exact nature of his alleged association with the organisation remains to be established.

The latest development comes against the backdrop of a recent Rajasthan ATS investigation into another alleged JeM-linked network.

Earlier in June, the Rajasthan ATS, acting on intelligence inputs from Military Intelligence, arrested a Jaipur-based woman, Babita Dhakad, over alleged links with Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed. She was also known by the alias “Khadija”, according to reports.

Investigators had alleged that Dhakad was in contact with individuals linked to JeM through social media and messaging platforms. Her electronic devices and online communications were examined as part of the investigation.

The case had also raised concerns among investigators about the use of online platforms for radicalisation and recruitment. Dhakad, who was originally from Rajasthan’s Sawai Madhopur/Gangapur City region and had been living in Jaipur, was arrested after intelligence inputs indicated suspected contacts with extremist elements based outside India.

Nagpur, Aug 9: In continuation of its operation against smuggling of precious metals, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized gold worth over Rs three crore from a train passenger at Nagpur in Maharashtra, officials said on Sunday.

Upon receiving a tip-off that gold, smuggled across the India-Bangladesh border, was being transported further by train, a DRI Nagpur team conducted an operation at Nagpur Railway Station and detained a passenger.

An official statement said that the passenger was arrested with 2.165 kg of gold. The estimated value of the seized gold is reported to be Rs 3.09 crore.

According to the intelligence received, the gold had been smuggled into India via the India-Bangladesh border. DRI officials subsequently learned that the gold was to be transported to its next destination by an individual travelling on the 12102 Dnyaneshwari Express.

Acting on this information, DRI Nagpur officials laid a trap at Nagpur Railway Station. The passenger was searched upon his arrival at the station, during which the concealed gold was discovered.

Officials have seized 16 gold bars from the accused passenger.

Recently, the DRI carried out a series of operations and arrested 20 accused, including five foreigners, seizing foreign-origin gold, heroin, MDMA and other contraband, an official said.

The seized articles included hydroponic weed, red sanders, prohibited wildlife products, e-cigarettes, foreign-origin poppy seeds and areca nuts, the DRI said in a statement, adding that around 9.5 kg of gold valued at around Rs 14 crore was seized and nine accused were arrested.

The arrest of 20 accused, including five foreign nationals, involved in smuggling and trafficking activities and exposed sophisticated concealment techniques employed by organised criminal syndicates, said the statement.

Sharing details of gold seizures, the DRI said that on July 29, two foreign nationals who had arrived from Dubai were arrested at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, leading to the seizure of 40 foreign-origin gold bars weighing 4 kg from cavities in their baggage.

In separate operations conducted jointly by DRI and Border Security Force personnel along the Indo-Bangladesh border, officers seized around 3.2 kg of foreign-origin gold, said the DRI.