Kolkata, Sep 19: A war of words broke out on social media between Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi and the leader of the rebel faction of the Trinamool Congress, Ritabrata Banerjee over the arrest of Milan Pradhan, the Congress candidate for the Nandigram Assembly bypoll in East Midnapore district of West Bengal.

Milan Pradhan was arrested on Friday evening, just hours after Sanchita Dey Pradhan, the erstwhile candidate from the Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee for the Nandigram bypoll, withdrew her nomination and the former West Bengal Chief Minister announced her support for the Congress candidate.

LoP Gandhi made a social media post on Friday night claiming that the arrest of Pradhan was a political revenge and the murder of democracy.

“The BJP has no faith in fair elections—that’s why it wants to cling to power sometimes through vote theft, sometimes through stealing governments, and sometimes through stealing parties. They don’t want to contest elections; they want to end the electoral fight altogether. The Congress will neither fear nor bow down. We will fight—and we will win,” said LoP Gandhi in his social media statement.

Just an hour after that, Ritabrata reacted to the social media statement from LoP Gandhi and said that the arrest of Milan Pradhan followed a complaint registered by the Trinamool Congress faction led by him.

“We, the Democratic Trinamool Congress, have lodged a complaint against Milan Pradhan, who has three murder cases pending against him. During elections it’s mandatory to execute the warrant. The State Cong Leadership probably has not intimated the actual details to Sri @RahulGandhi,” alleged Ritabrata in his statement.

Friday was an eventful day for West Bengal politics. The Election Commission of India (ECI), which had on Thursday announced the freezing of the name ‘All India Trinamool Congress’ and the symbol ‘Flowers & Grass’, on Friday, allotted new names and symbols to the two factions of the Trinamool Congress.

While Mamata Banerjee’s party was allotted the name ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress’ and the symbol ‘Football Player’, the Ritabrata-led rebel faction was allotted the name of ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’ and the new symbol of ‘Envelope’ by the poll panel.

Soon after that decision from the ECI, Sanchita Dey Pradhan, the erstwhile candidate from the Mamata Banerjee-led faction for the Nandigram bypoll, met Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and withdrew her nomination.

Thereafter, Mamata Banerjee announced her support for the Congress candidate Milan Pradhan, who was arrested just hours after that announcement in an old case of murder registered against him.

New Delhi, Sep 19: The counting of votes for the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) election began amid tight security on Saturday. The results will be announced later in the day.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has fielded Yash Dabas for the post of President and Ishu Maurya for Vice-President, while the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) has fielded Vijay Shankar Meena and Veer Chatrath for the two key posts, respectively.

A voter turnout of 40.46 per cent was recorded during polling held on Friday, according to data received from the 52 polling centres across Delhi University.

The turnout was the highest recorded in the past three years.

In comparison, the voter turnout last year stood at 39.5 per cent.

The polling process was conducted in two stages to accommodate students attending classes at different times.

The first phase was held from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., while the second phase, meant for evening students, took place from 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Ahead of the announcement of the final results, the ABVP has already secured key positions at several colleges in the DUSU election.

The organisation has won all key posts at Aditi Mahavidyalaya, Sri Aurobindo College (Morning), Dr B.R. Ambedkar College, Bharati College and Shivaji College.

At Ramjas College, ABVP candidates emerged victorious in the posts of President, Secretary, Central Councillor and Internal Complaints Committee, further adding to the organisation’s tally of victories at individual colleges before the university-level results are declared.

Delhi University has 91 colleges spread across its North and South campuses. However, only 52 colleges and faculties directly participate in the Delhi University Students’ Union electoral process.

Several prominent institutions, including St Stephen’s College, Lady Shri Ram College and Jesus and Mary College, do not participate in the DUSU election process.

The counting is being conducted under heightened security arrangements. Authorities have taken measures to ensure that the process remains peaceful and orderly until the final results are announced.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court has also barred victory processions following the DUSU election results and directed the Delhi Police to ensure that no such procession is held on roads, in hostels or inside college premises after the results are declared.

New Delhi, Sep 19: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi on Saturday raised concerns over women’s safety in Delhi following the alleged gang rape and murder of a teenage girl, questioning the lack of accountability over crimes against women.

Priyanka Gandhi took to social media ‘X’ and said, “In Delhi, all limits of cruelty were crossed against a 17-year-old girl, and after that, she was brutally murdered. Just a few days earlier, another minor girl was raped. No one in the country is willing to take responsibility for women’s safety, only empty talk about women’s development is offered. Hundreds of women face atrocities and violence, but they cannot hope for concrete action against the perpetrators, FIRs aren’t even filed.”

“Both society and the government have completely failed in granting women their rights to safety, freedom, and equality,” she said.

Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had also raised the issue on Friday night, describing the incident as unfortunate and questioning the responsibility of authorities for ensuring women’s safety in the national Capital.

LoP Rahul Gandhi took to social media ‘X’ and said, “In Delhi, a 17-year-old girl was gang-raped, murdered, and her body was dumped in an open field. Such a horrific act of brutality in the capital, and the police had no clue for days. It’s unfortunate that Delhi is no longer the capital today; it has become a terrifying daily story for women.”

“Amit Shah ji, Delhi Police is under your control. Ultimately, whose responsibility is women’s safety? Or has the job of Delhi Police been reduced to just intimidating and threatening ordinary citizens? Because the criminals are roaming around fearlessly,” LoP Gandhi said.

Rahul Gandhi also called for strict action, and punishment against the rapists and murderers of the minor girl.

“The beasts must be arrested immediately, strict action and punishment must be taken, and accountability for this criminal negligence must be fixed. India cannot move forward without women’s safety,” LoP Gandhi said.

The minor girl was allegedly gang-raped and murdered by four persons, including three juveniles, in Delhi, with police saying the accused subsequently abandoned her body in an open area.

Parts of the victim’s decomposed body were later found to have been eaten by stray dogs.

According to police, the incident came to light on September 13 when the girl’s severely decomposed body was discovered near Jaipal Rana’s field along Kushak Road in the Swaroop Nagar area of North Delhi. The condition of the body was such that police could not initially determine the victim’s gender.

Police said the victim was acquainted with the accused and had been travelling with them in a tempo. During the journey, the group allegedly consumed alcohol before the girl was sexually assaulted. She was subsequently stabbed to death, after which her body was allegedly dumped in the open field.

Investigators said stray dogs had eaten parts of the body, while one of the victim’s hands was found detached from the rest of the body.

Police said the girl’s family had not lodged a missing person complaint. During questioning, her relatives reportedly told investigators that she would sometimes leave home and return after staying away for several days.

A case was registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Since there were no apparent eyewitnesses and the identities of the suspects were initially unknown, police began examining CCTV footage from the area.

Investigators analysed footage from more than 50 CCTV cameras installed along the suspected crime scene and adjoining routes. During the exercise, police noticed a tempo moving in the vicinity around the relevant period. However, its registration number could not be identified clearly because of poor visibility and darkness.

The investigators subsequently tracked the vehicle’s movements through footage from several locations. A night-long operation was conducted during the intervening night of September 15 and 16, following which the tempo was traced.

Police then identified and questioned its driver. The investigation eventually led to the apprehension of four persons allegedly connected with the incident, including three juveniles.

The adult accused has been identified as Shivam, alias Sudama, alias Chuchu, a resident of Khadda Colony, police said. The three juveniles apprehended in connection with the case are aged 16 and 17.

According to police, two knives allegedly used during the crime, clothes purportedly worn by the accused and the tempo have been recovered.