Monideepa Banerjie

'Saw Daughter Gang-Raped': At Rohingya Camp In Bangladesh, Horror Stories

World News | Written by Monideepa Banerjie | Thursday September 21, 2017

From a distance, it appears to be a hill in flames. As one draws closer, it emerges that shacks on the hillside are covered in orange plastic sheets that look like flames. These are Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, not far from its border with Myanmar.

'Don't Play With Fire': Mamata Banerjee To Group Planning Rally With Arms

India News | Reported By Monideepa Banerjie, Edited By Soumyajit Majumder | Sunday September 17, 2017

A day after the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) announced plans to organise events to -worship- weapons on the final day of the Durga Puja festival in West Bengal later this month, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked right-wing outfits not to "play with fire".

In Video, Bengal Minister Threatens To Slap Banker For Technical Failure

India News | Reported by Monideepa Banerjie, Edited by Shylaja Varma | Saturday September 16, 2017

In a widely-shared video, a minister in West Bengal can be seen threatening and verbally abusing the staff at a bank for alleged mismanagement. The video shows Rabindra Nath Ghosh, a minister in the Mamata Banerjee government, threatening to slap a bank staffer inside the office of Union Bank of India in north Bengal's Cooch Behar district.

Expelled But 'Unofficially', Left MP Ritabrata Banerjee Says 'Had To Bell The Cat'

India News | Written by Monideepa Banerjie | Thursday September 14, 2017

At one time, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPM would be compared to a well-oiled machine. Perhaps testimony to the fact that it is creaking at many joints, the party MP Ritabrata Banerjee was expelled yesterday but there is still nothing official about it.

Durga Puja Holidays In Darjeeling? Hold Your Horses May Be

India News | Written by Monideepa Banerjie | Tuesday September 12, 2017

89 days after Darjeeling shut down to demand a separate state and protest a bid to allegedly impose Bengali language in the hills, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today met several hill leaders, led by Benoy Tamang of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, for talks that both sides said were positive.

2 Trinamool Leaders' Visit To Investigators Raises Eyebrows In Kolkata

India News | Written by Monideepa Banerjie | Tuesday September 12, 2017

On a day BJP chief Amit Shah met party workers in Kolkata in a closed door meeting and told them, reportedly, that they must literally fight the Trinamool, two Trinamool leaders seen on the Narada sting operation tapes walked into the offices of central agencies to give their statements. Sources claim their party was taken aback, that Trinamool was...

Huge Rally In Kolkata By Muslim Outfits Demands Justice For Rohingyas

India News | Written by Monideepa Banerjie | Tuesday September 12, 2017

On a day the Indian government was "deplored" by UN agencies for planning to deport some 40,000 Rohingyas who have been sheltering in India for years a dozen organisations - most of them Muslim - took to the streets of Kolkata to protest what they called the genocide of Rohingyas in Myanmar.

Two West Bengal Universities Watch PM Speech; 2 Too Many, Says Trinamool Minister

India News | Written by Monideepa Banerjie | Monday September 11, 2017

Only two central universities in West Bengal tuned into Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the youth on Monday on Swami Vivekananda and Deendayal Upadhyay, yet it provoked the state education minister to say that two was 'too many'.

Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Objects To UGC Letter On Viewing PM's Speech

India News | Written by Monideepa Banerjie | Saturday September 9, 2017

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver a special address to the nation on Monday to mark the centenary celebration of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya and 125 years of Swami Vivekananda's address at the Chicago World Parliament of Religions.

Father-Son Die Of Dengue, Kolkata Civic Body Wants To Double Check Cause

Kolkata News | Written by Monideepa Banerjie | Friday September 8, 2017

Dengue killed two people in Kolkata on Thursday. The tragic twist to the statistic: one victim was the father and the other his son.

For Trinamool Members Thinking Of Jumping Ship, Mamata Banerjee Has This Message

India News | Written by Monideepa Banerjie | Friday September 8, 2017

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today told leaders of her Trinamool Congress that if anyone wanted to leave the party and join some other, they were free to do so. "It is their personal choice," she is reported to have said at a core committee meeting at the office at her home complex in Kolkata.

'Vengeance' Says RSS As Bengal Auditorium Scraps Mohan Bhagwat's Event

India News | Reported by Monideepa Banerjie, Edited by Deepshikha Ghosh | Tuesday September 5, 2017

An event in Kolkata featuring RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is left without a venue with just weeks to go, after a prominent government-run auditorium has allegedly cancelled the booking.

1 Dead After Bengal Police Raid Secret Gorkha Morcha Meeting In Sikkim

India News | Written by Monideepa Banerjie | Saturday September 2, 2017

In a scene akin to an American Wild West film, Bengal police officers dressed in plainclothes crossed over from Darjeeling in Bengal to Namchi in Sikkim pretending to be tourists. Fully armed, the officers raided a secret meeting of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha or GJM, the political party spearheading the movement for a separate state - Gorkhaland.

Refugee Cards For 24 Rohingya Children In Bengal Cancelled At Last Minute

India News | Written by Monideepa Banerjie | Thursday August 31, 2017

At a time Rohingyas are fleeing Myanmar because of what many are calling a genocide by the army in that country, the Indian government has issued an advisory to deport Rohingyas sheltering here. But the West Bengal government has decided to give refugee cards issued by the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHCR) to 24 Rohingya children shelt...

2 Trinamool Leaders Face Show Cause For Abusing Triple Talaq Petitioner

India News | Written by Monideepa Banerjie | Wednesday August 30, 2017

The Trinamool Congress has held its silence for a week now on the landmark Supreme Court judgement ruling instant triple talaq illegal. But now, two senior party leaders have publicly abused 31-year-old Ishrat Jahan, one of five petitioners in the case and forced the Trinamool to act.

India Gets Its Own Sniper Rifle From West Bengal's Ishapore

India News | Written by Monideepa Banerjie | Wednesday August 30, 2017

The Ishapore sniper costs Rs 2.5 lakh plus tax, has a caliber of 7.62 mm, weighs 6.7 kg and can kill at 800 metres. H&N rifles, three times the price, have a longer range but weigh 7.2 kg, a half-kilo difference in weight that could be critical in a crisis.

Darjeeling Bandh For 78 Days: Mamata Banerjee, Hill Parties Talk, But No Solution Yet

India News | Written by Monideepa Banerjie | Tuesday August 29, 2017

For the first time in 78 days, there's a thaw in the ice between Darjeeling and Nabanna, office of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. But could the thaw be shortlived.

'Hope To Resolve Darjeeling Crisis': Gorkha Leaders To Meet Mamata Banerjee Today

India News | Reported by Monideepa Banerjie, Edited by Nidhi Sethi | Tuesday August 29, 2017

As the indefinite shutdown in Darjeeling entered its 77th day, leaders of some hill parties will be meeting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today to discuss the way forward. The meeting will be held at Mamata Banerjee's office in Kolkata at 4 pm.

'I Have Come Back': Engineering Student Saved From Blue Whale Suicide Game

India News | Written by Monideepa Banerjie | Monday August 28, 2017

An engineering student in Kolkata, believed to have completed several levels of the "Blue Whale" suicide game and had even carved an image of the animal on his arm with a blade, says he was saved by his college friends, faculty and counseling by the West Bengal police.

2 Beaten To Death In North Bengal On Suspicion Of Being Cow Thieves

India News | Written by Monideepa Banerjie | Sunday August 27, 2017

Two men - both 19 years old - were beaten to death by a mob at Baruhalia village in north Bengal this morning on the suspicion that they were cow thieves.

After Winning Triple Talaq Case, Bengal Woman Faces Another Battle

India News | Written by Monideepa Banerjie | Saturday August 26, 2017

Days after winning freedom from instant triple talaq for all Muslim women in India, Howrah's Ishrat Jahan - one of the five petitioners in the landmark Supreme Court case - has a new battle on her hands.

Mamata Banerjee Says No Durga Idol Immersion On Muharram To Avoid Clashes

India News | Written by Monideepa Banerjie | Thursday August 24, 2017

In a more charged re-run of last year, the immersion of idols of Goddess Durga - West Bengal's chief deity - and the observance of Muharram - the day of sorrow in the Islamic faith - are set on course for a head-on collision.

Mamata Banerjee Tours Rain-Hit North Bengal, BJP Calls Her Visit 'Flood Tourism'

India News | Written by Monideepa Banerjie | Tuesday August 22, 2017

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took a train from Kolkata, drove to inundated areas and walked in ankle-deep water to meet victims who have lost their homes, crops and livelihoods to incessant rains over the last week.

Blue Monday For Bengal As Sweet Shops To Stay Shut Today To Protest GST

Kolkata News | Written by Monideepa Banerjie | Monday August 21, 2017

Its going to be a very blue Monday for Bengal. And not a single rosogolla or sandesh to lift the spirits. All of Monday, close to 1.5 lakh sweet shops across the state are keeping their shutters down for 24 full hours. On Sunday, posters went up saying - No GST please for mishti (Sweets).

1 Killed In Crude Bomb Blast At Kalimpong Near Darjeeling

India News | Written by Monideepa Banerjie | Sunday August 20, 2017

One person was allegedly killed Saturday night in a blast in at Kalimpong, the district adjoining Darjeeling in north Bengal. At least three people -- possibly policemen -- are also reported to be injured. The local police station may have been the target of the bomb which was hurled at about 10:45 pm.

Trinamool's Total Triumph In Bengal Civic Polls, BJP Distant Second

India News | Reported by Monideepa Banerjie, edited by Abhinav Bhatt | Friday August 18, 2017

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress has swept all seven urban local bodies for which elections were held in West Bengal on Sunday. Of a total 148 wards, the Trinamool has won a massive 140 and the BJP six. The Left's seat was won by the Forward Bloc, while the CPM and Congress drew a blank.

Independence Day Speech Blocked By Doordarshan, AIR, Alleges Tripura Chief Minister

India News | Reported by Monideepa Banerjie, Edited by Deepshikha Ghosh | Wednesday August 16, 2017

National broadcaster Doordarshan today denied allegations that Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar's Independence Day speech was blacked out by state-run TV and radio on Tuesday. Mr Sarkar, alleging that he had been asked to "reshape" his address, called it "thoroughly undemocratic, authoritarian and curtailment of freedom of speech."

Netaji Statue Vandalised On Independence Day In Bengal's Birbhum District

India News | Written by Monideepa Banerjie | Tuesday August 15, 2017

In a tiny village in West Bengal's Birbhum district, Independence Day did not get off the ground at all today. Villagers at Panchra woke up to find a statue of freedom fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose - to be inaugurated to mark the day - covered with tar and its nose broken by miscreants in the night.

Pramod Da's Soul Food Or Mass Produced-Fast Fare? Presidency Debates

India News | Written by Monideepa Banerjie | Monday August 14, 2017

The vice chancellor wants a swanky food court that offers -- as per the tender floated -- Chinese, Punjabi, Mughlai, South Indian, Gujarati food and more. But students want Pramod da's Canteen and its 40 years of heritage, as iconic as Presidency itself.

West Bengal Civic Body Polls: Opposition Demands Fresh Election

India News | Written by Monideepa Banerjie | Monday August 14, 2017

Major opposition parties in West Bengal have demanded cancellation of elections to the seven municipal bodies held today, alleging widespread violence and booth-capturing by Trinamool Congress workers.