Latest news with #Mondal
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Held in Mumbai and deported by BSF, Bengal couple returns home from Bangladesh
Kolkata: The West Bengal police have helped a couple from the state to return home days after they were declared illegal Bangladeshi immigrants by Maharashtra police and deported to the neighbouring country by the Border Security Force (BSF), police officials said. 'Fazal Mondal, a migrant worker, and his wife Taslima were released by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Monday. We took them home safely,' Ganesh Bain, officer-in-charge of North 24 Parganas district's Bagdah police station, told HT. Fazal Mondal, a resident of Hariharpur village in Bagdah, went to Karnataka in 2024 with his wife in search of livelihood and the couple moved to the Naya Nagar area in Mumbai five months ago. They were arrested on June 10 and deported to Bangladesh on June 14, Mondal's father Tahajul Mondal told the media on Tuesday. Tahajul Mondal said: 'My son and daughter-in-law were detained at Naya Nagar police station on June 10 and declared illegal Bangladeshi immigrants although they carried documents such as Aadhar and PAN cards. I contacted the Maharashtra police and sent copies of more documents, including a certificate the health department issued after my son was administered polio vaccine when he was a child.' 'They were arrested only because they speak Bengali which is our mother tongue. Can't people speak their mother tongue?' he said. 'On June 14, a man claiming to be a BGB official called us up and said my son and his wife had been deported and we should seek help from our local administration to get them back. We immediately informed the police and sought help from local Trinamool Congress leaders as well,' Mondal added. BSF did not comment on the couple. The couple were released by BGB a day after three migrant workers from Murshidabad district and two from East Burdwan district managed to return to India through the Mekhliganj border outpost in north Bengal's Cooch Behar district. These men were held by Mumbai police on June 12 and handed over to BSF, which deported them on June 14. They, too, claimed that they were arrested after they showed documents such as Aadhar and PAN cards. After these five men were brought back to India on Monday, HT tried to get official comments from BSF's South Bengal Frontier and the North Bengal Frontier headquarters. Emails and reminder e-mails were sent but there was no response. The Mira-Bhayander Vasai-Virar (MBVV) police denied allegations that Indian nationals have been pushed to Bangladesh. 'After the arrest of an illegal Bangladeshi national for attacking actor Saif Ali Khan, they had received orders from the Home department to conduct a drive against illegal immigrants staying in the region. Based on these orders, the police had conducted a combing operation, identified and detained several illegal immigrants from the region in the past three months,' said Prakash Gaikwad, deputy commissioner of police, Mira Road. Meanwhile, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Centre over this issue while addressing the state legislative assembly on Monday. She accused the BJP of launching a 'witch-hunt' against Bengali-speaking Indian citizens in states ruled by the them and labelling these people as Bangladeshi without taking into account valid documents. (With input from Kanchan V. Chaudhari)
Time of India
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
3 Bengal residents pushed into Bangladesh by BSF, repatriated
1 2 Kolkata/Jalpaiguri: Three Bengal residents, who were among five held by Mumbai Police and pushed into Bangladesh by BSF, were repatriated to India on Sunday after the Bengal govt flagged the incident to Centre. The two others remain in custody of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and are likely to return soon. Sources said Mumbai cops picked up four Murshidabad residents: Minarul Sekh of Beldanga, Nazimuddin Mondal of Hariharpara, Mehboob Sheikh of Bhagwangola and Dablu Sheikh of Ranitala, as well as Mustafa Kamal of East Burdwan's Monteswar earlier this month. The five were first sent to Cooch Behar and then pushed into Bangladesh where they were apprehended by BGB. They ended up in Bangladesh's Lalmonirhat. On Saturday, three of them made a video appeal to CM Mamata Banerjee seeking help to return home. Trinamool Rajya Sabha member Samirul Islam, who heads Bengal's migrant workers welfare board, said, "The CM was informed about how Bengal residents were being illegally pushed into Bangladesh. The CM immediately asked the Bengal administration to take up the issue with Centre and bring them back." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch CFD với công nghệ và tốc độ tốt hơn IC Markets Đăng ký Undo "BSF and BGB held a flag meeting. Three among them (Sekh, Mondal and Kamal) were sent back. They are now in Mekhliganj (Cooch Behar). The remaining two are expected to return on Monday," he added. They were handed over to India around 4pm, said Mani Bhusan Sarkar, OC of Mekhliganj Police Station. "They are tired and yet to recover from their state of trauma," Sarkar said. MP Islam said, "Just because the five spoke Bengali, Mumbai Police tagged them Bangladeshis without verifying their identity and decided to pack them off to the border and handed them over to BSF, who also did not cross-check the documents of these poor migrant workers." Mondal's brother Mabub Ali said he was informed of his brother's return by the local police and MLA Niamat Sheikh.
The Hindu
15-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Protesting teachers in Bengal go on hunger strike ‘till government meets demands'
Protesting teachers in West Bengal, whose appointments were cancelled after the Supreme Court order, have gone on a hunger strike, demanding that the government pause fresh recruitments until their review petition yields a result. Ten protesting teachers — Mita Sarkar, Chinmoy Mondal, Koushik Sarkar, Balaram Biswas, Sukumar Soren, Bikash Roy, Manik Majumder, Kishore Kumar Roy, Anirban Saha, and Achinta Das — started 'fasting unto death' from 1 am on June 13. As of going to press, they would have completed nearly 48 hours of their hunger strike. 'We lost our livelihoods for no fault of ours, but because of the government's corruption. So we have been forced to take this extreme step. We will not end our hunger strike till our demands are met, or till our bodies give in,' fasting teacher Mr Mondal said. This development follows months of protests after a Supreme Court order on April 3 invalidated nearly 26,000 teaching and non-teaching job appointments from the recruitment panel published by the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) in 2016, citing a 'vitiated and tainted' hiring process. Following a consequent order by the Supreme Court, the West Bengal government published the rules and notification for fresh recruitments to fill 44,203 vacancies for the position of assistant teachers. Meanwhile, the State and the SSC have also filed review petitions at the Supreme Court. 'The process of the review petition [before the Supreme Court] and fresh appointments will continue simultaneously,' Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said on May 27 this year. However, 'sacked and untainted' teachers have raised questions on why the application deadline for fresh recruitments is set before the Supreme Court can take a decision on the review petition. 'Our primary demand behind the hunger strike is for the government to postpone or put on hold fresh recruitments till the Supreme Court pronounces a judgement on the review petition. As of now, the deadline to apply for fresh recruitment closes before the Supreme Court is due to reopen after summer recess on July 14. We believe the government is not interested in pursuing the review petition earnestly,' Mehebub Mondal, a protesting teacher and leading voice of the Jogyo Shikkhok Shikkhika Adhikar Mancha (JSSAM), told The Hindu. He explained that the review petition is one of the last remaining hopes for 'untainted' teachers to have their job appointments reinstated without re-examination. 'We have proved our worth once and have worked diligently as teachers for seven years. We are innocent victims of the government's corruption. The SSC should publish a certified list of 'untainted candidates' and a fresh merit list for 2016 after re-evaluating our OMR sheets. That will help us retain our jobs, and the worthy waitlisted candidates can also find their deserved position in the merit list,' Mr Mondal said. He added that if the sacked teachers must reappear for fresh recruitments, they demand to be recruited through a separate notification and selection process, meant only for the affected teachers of the cancelled 2016 panel. Mr Mondal also claimed that the SSC chairperson, during his meeting with JSSAM representatives on June 12, did not accept any of the demands put forth by the protesting teachers.
Indian Express
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
TMC warns Anubrata Mondal, Kajal Sheikh against ‘infighting' ahead of 2026 Assembly elections
The Top leaders of the Trinamool Congress, including party state president Subrata Bakshi, met Anubrata Mondal and his party rival Kajal Sheikh on Saturday ahead of the July 21 Martyrs' Day preparation meeting. The meeting, which took place at the party's Bhabanipur office, was also attended by Kolkata Mayor and state minister Firhad Hakim and state Sports Minister Aroop Biswas. According to party sources, both Mondal and Sheikh were told that no 'infighting' would be tolerated ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. They were instructed to refrain from making public statements against each other. If repeated, the party warned, strict disciplinary action would follow. Mondal, in particular, was advised to maintain composure and avoid provocative behavior, the sources said. The closed-door meeting came weeks after a purported audio clip surfaced in which Mondal was allegedly heard using abusive language during a phone call with a police inspector. The Birbhum district police have since registered an FIR against Mondal. After the meeting, neither Mondal nor Sheikh made any public comments. Senior leaders such as Bakshi and Hakim also chose not to brief the media. However, a senior TMC leader claimed, 'Whenever Anubrata and Kajal speak publicly, controversy follows. The party likely told them to stay silent at least until the Assembly elections to avoid further issues.' Meanwhile, in the larger July 21 planning session, TMC's state leadership instructed all district presidents and chairpersons to immediately begin mass outreach campaigns across blocks, panchayats, and municipalities. Bakshi reportedly urged local leaders to ensure a record-breaking turnout and also asked them to highlight what he described as the BJP-led central government's 'discriminatory policies' against Bengal and push back against the party's 'communal agenda' through grassroots campaigns. Atri Mitra is a Special Correspondent of The Indian Express with more than 20 years of experience in reporting from West Bengal, Bihar and the North-East. He has been covering administration and political news for more than ten years and has a keen interest in political development in West Bengal. Atri holds a Master degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University and Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University. He is also an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur. He started his career with leading vernacular daily the Anandabazar Patrika, and worked there for more than fifteen years. He worked as Bihar correspondent for more than three years for Anandabazar Patrika. He covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections. He also worked with News18-Bangla and covered the Bihar Lok Sabha election in 2019. ... Read More
Time of India
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
‘Stick to your brief': Trinamool gets tough with Anubrata
1 2 Kolkata: "Do not increase the party's unease, stick to your responsibilities and speak less" was the Trinamool leadership's message to Birbhum's warring netas Anubrata Mondal and Kajal Sheikh on Saturday, making it clear that the party's patience was thinning with their constant bickering. TMC functionaries maintained that Mondal had been admonished enough for his abuse and threats at Bolpur IC Liton Halder, pointing out the selective outrage against Trinamool compared to CPM's radio silence on Anil Basu and Binoy Konar and BJP's on Kailash Vijayvargiya. Mondal and Sheikh — who were in Kolkata to attend TMC's July 21 Martyrs' Day preparatory meet at the Bhowanipore party office — met party state president Subrata Bakshi, senior ministers Firhad Hakim and Aroop Biswas, and TMC's Birbhum chairperson and deputy speaker Asish Banerjee. Sources said the two netas were told to stick to their responsibilities and not create roadblocks for each other, which would end up harming the party. They were asked to not do anything that brings disrepute to TMC and frustrates party workers. Mondal and Sheikh were also asked to speak less. The TMC leadership's clear message was aimed at stopping the constant bickering between Mondal and Sheikh, the Birbhum zilla parishad chairperson. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trade Bitcoin & Ethereum – No Wallet Needed! IC Markets Start Now Undo Mondal is based primarily in Bolpur; Sheikh in Nanoor. The rivalry between the two netas goes back several years. Mondal was the party's Birbhum all-powerful district president till he was arrested and imprisoned for a year-and-a-half till his release in Sept 2024. In this interim, Trinamool had formed a five-member core committee, including Sheikh, to helm party affairs in his absence during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. In 2024, TMC easily won the two LS seats Birbhum and Bolpur. After his release, Mondal was drafted in the core committee and asked to chair it but not given independent charge. TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said: "There can be differences of opinion anywhere, in a family or among friends. And here we are talking of a huge party like Trinamool. But whatever be it, we all revere and follow one leader, Mamata Banerjee , and work for Trinamool. Nothing is bigger than that. In the end, everyone will fight for the party." Party MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay said: "Whatever perceived differences that were, everything has been resolved." Saturday's meeting also deliberated on the recent controversy surrounding the leaked audio tapes in which Mondal was heard threatening and abusing the Bolpur IC. Mondal questioned how and why the call was recorded and leaked and pointed out how his medical certificate to cops found its way to the media. Mondal was reportedly asked to cool down. Hakim said: "The party has strongly condemned abuses and misbehaviour. Anubrata was asked to issue a public apology and a personal apology (to the police officer) within four hours. The party acted strongly. But why is only Trinamool being asked about it, why aren't similar questions or outrages directed against CPM on Anil Basu and Binoy Konar and BJP on Kailash Vijayvargiya?" TMC's state disciplinary committee head Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay also reiterated that the party had acted against Mondal. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
