Kolkata, May 16: A day after being baton-charged by police, the protesting teachers have assembled again, surrounding Bikash Bhavan, the West Bengal Education Department’s headquarters, on Friday morning.

Some of the protesting teachers with severe head and body injuries were also seen joining the protests.

Some of the protesters attempted to get inside the Bikash Bhavan premises by removing the barricades raised by police around the building at Salt Lake in Kolkata.

A police contingent from Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate has already reached the spot and is trying to control the situation.

The protesting teachers claimed that even if they face police assault again, they would continue with their protests till their last breath until their demands in the matter are fulfilled.

Their main demand is that the state government and West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) should immediately publish lists segregating the “untainted” or “genuine” candidates from the “tainted” ones, who had paid money for getting school jobs.

They also alleged that the state government and WBSSC are “deliberately refraining from publishing the segregated lists to protect the untainted candidates”.

The protesting “genuine” teachers started a gherao agitation on Thursday morning, cordoning off Bikash Bhavan from all sides. At around 10 p.m. on Thursday, a huge police contingent reached the spot and resorted to a massive baton charge to disperse the protesters, in which several protesting teachers were severely injured.

Although the “gherao” demonstration was dispersed, the protesting teachers assembled at a distance from Bikash Bhavan, continuing with their sit-in demonstration.

On April 3, the Supreme Court’s division bench of erstwhile Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar had upheld a previous order by the Calcutta High Court’s division bench of Justice Debangshu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi cancelling 25,753 school jobs in West Bengal.

The Apex Court also accepted the observation of the Calcutta High Court that the entire panel of 25,753 candidates had to be cancelled because of the failure of the state government and the commission to segregate the “untainted candidates from the “tainted” ones.

The state government and West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) had already filed review petitions at the Apex Court on this issue.

New Delhi, May 16: The Supreme Court is set to hear the plea of Madhya Pradesh Tribal Affairs Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah on Friday, challenging a Madhya Pradesh High Court order that initiated suo motu contempt proceedings against him.

The High Court had taken cognisance of Shah’s remarks directed at Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, the Indian Army officer who briefed the media regarding Operation Sindoor.

The matter was mentioned for urgent listing before the Bench of the Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, and Justice George Augustine Masih.

The Supreme Court on Thursday questioned the sense of responsibility of Madhya Pradesh Minister Shah, who reportedly made derogatory remarks about Colonel Qureshi.

“What sort of statements are you making… A responsible Minister of the government, that too when the country Is undergoing such a situation… A person holding a Constitutional office is expected to exercise a degree of restraint. Every sentence uttered by a Minister must be with a sense of responsibility,” Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai reproached Shah’s remarks about the woman officer.

Shah, represented by senior advocate Vibha Dutta Makhija, has moved the Supreme Court for a stay of a First Information Report (FIR) registered against him on the orders of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The apex court agreed to hear his case on May 16, 2025.

The apex court advised the Minister’s lawyers to inform the High Court, which had listed the case on May 15, about the May 16 hearing.

The High Court had taken suo motu cognisance of the comments made by the Minister.

Makhija, in an oral mentioning for early hearing, submitted that the comments were “unfortunately over-hyped” by the media.

The Minister was not given an opportunity to be heard by the High Court before it passed the order to the police to register an FIR.

She argued that the High Court might have exceeded its jurisdiction.

At that point, Chief Justice Gavai asked why the Minister should approach the Supreme Court directly, and not fight his case in the High Court itself.

“Somebody is a Minister, so it should be entertained here?” Chief Justice Gavai asked Makhija.

The senior lawyer said Shah has publicly expressed remorse, and she had a recording of it.

On Wednesday, the Madhya Pradesh High Court ordered the Director General of Police (DGP) to register a criminal case against Shah within four hours and warned the DGP of contempt action in case of any delay in compliance.

A bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Anuradha Shukla of the Madhya Pradesh High Court said that prima facie, an offence of promoting enmity between different castes, religion and language was made out.

The Justice Sreedharan-led Bench opined that referring to Colonel Sofiya Qureshi as a “sister of terrorists” is an offence of hurting the sentiments and faith of the Muslim community.

Talking about Operation Sindoor, Vijay Shah, on Monday, had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sent a “sister from the same community” as those in Pakistan to avenge the April 22 terror strike in Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

“PM Modi is striving for the society. Those who widowed our daughters (in Pahalgam), we sent a sister of their own to teach them a lesson,” Shah had said.

The distasteful remarks against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, the Indian Army officer who briefed the media throughout Operation Sindoor against Pakistan, sparked nationwide outrage.

Following the incident, the Minister apologised from the “bottom of his heart” and said he respects the Armed Forces and mentioned Colonel Sofiya as “sister”.

“I, Vijay Shah, am not only ashamed and saddened by my recent statement, which has hurt the sentiments of every community, but I also apologise from the bottom of my heart. Our country’s sister Sofia Qureshi ji has worked rising above caste and society while fulfilling her national duty,” he said in a video message posted on the social media platform X.

In his petition filed before the Top Court, Shah sought quashing of the FIR as well as the suo motu proceedings initiated by the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

Srinagar, May 15: Three terrorists of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) were killed on Thursday in a gunfight with the security forces in Nader village of Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

Officials said the three terrorists were later identified as Asif Ahmed Sheikh, Amir Nazir Wani and Yawar Ahmad Bhat, all residents of Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

This is the second encounter in the union territory within 48 hours.

Earlier today, Srinagar headquartered 15 Corps of the Army said on X, “On May 15, 2025, based on specific Intelligence input from Int agency, a Cordon & Search Operation was launched by Indian Army, J&K Police and Srinagar Sector CRPF at Nader, Tral, Awantipora. Suspicious activity was observed by vigilant troops and on being challenged, terrorists opened heavy fire, and a fierce gunfight ensued. Operation is in progress.”

A gunfight had started between the security forces and the hiding terrorists on Thursday in the Tral area of Pulwama district’s Awantipora sub-division.

The Police said on X, “Encounter has started at Nader, Tral area of #Awantipora. Police and security forces are on the job. Further details shall follow.”

Following specific Intelligence inputs, security forces surrounded the Nader village of Tral tehsil to conduct searches. “As the security forces came close to the hiding terrorists, there was an exchange of gunfire, which is now going on,” police said.

Today’s gunfight comes two days after security forces gunned down three Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists in an operation in the Keller area of Shopian district.

Of the three terrorists killed on Tuesday, the two slain terrorists were identified as Shahid Kuttay and Adnan Shafi, both residents of Shopian. Kuttay, who joined Lashkar in 2023, was involved in a shooting incident at the Danish resort on April 8 last year, in which two German tourists and one driver were injured.

He was also involved in the killing of a BJP Sarpanch at Heerpora in Shopian in May last year. Shafi, who joined the terror group in 2024, was involved in the killing of a non-local labourer at Wachi in Shopian district.

On May 10, a ceasefire understanding was announced by India and Pakistan. However, the terrorists fired at the sentry post outside the headquarters of the White Knight Corps in the Nagrota area of Jammu district nearly two hours after the ceasefire understanding came into force.

India has made it clear that any act of terror within the country would be treated as an “act of war”. The terrorists, aided and sponsored by Pakistan, killed 26 innocent people on April 22, including 25 tourists and a local in Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam.

The cowardly act was carried out by LeT terrorists, as per the security forces. This finally resulted in India avenging the murder of innocent civilians by precision strikes at terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK).

India has made it clear that the Indus Waters Treaty would continue to remain in abeyance, and no trade would be restored with Pakistan.

During Pakistani targeting of civilian areas along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border, more than 200 houses and shops have been destroyed, forcing hundreds of border dwellers to abandon their homes to seek refuge at safer places away from the line of fire.

These affected families are yet to return to their homes at the LoC as the security forces are busy defusing unexploded Pakistani mortar shells in the affected areas.