M A I N   N E W S

Cong meets Mamata on seat sharing

Kolkata, March 26
In a significant development after the Trinamool Congress (TC) pulled out of the NDA government, Congress leader Kamal Nath had a meeting with TC Chief Mamata Banerjee on seat adjustments between the two parties in the coming assembly elections.

Mr Kamal Nath, in charge of West Bengal affairs, flew in here last night on the directive of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and had ‘confidential parleys’ with Ms Banerjee at her south Kolkata residence.

This is the first high-level contact between the two parties after Ms Banerjee resigned as minister at the Centre and pulled her party out of the coalition.

Mr Nath said his meeting was to establish the fact that the Trinamool Congress has dissociated with the NDA and BJP. It was based on the premise that she has nothing to do with the NDA and BJP. PTI

Custodial death at Ellenabad, 6 cops suspended
Bhupinder Dharmani

Sirsa, March 26
Tension prevails in Ellenabad following the death of a person in police custody late last night. Angry residents raised slogans against the administration and damaged the jeep of the SDM and property at the police station. The SDM intervened and a case under Section 302, IPC, was registered against six police personnel, including the police station in charge, and were suspended late midnight.

According to information, tension built up when the news of the death of Om Parkash Tantia of ward No. 15 in police custody broke out. In a complaint, Bhola Ram, son of the deceased, alleged that some policemen came to his house in a jeep at about 8 p.m. yesterday. While one of them knocked at the front door, the others climbed over the rear wall and opened the door. They beat his father and finding no gamblingships on him, he beat him even more.

Unable to bear the beating his 50-year-old father fainted and was taken to the police station. Later when family members of Om Parkash went to the police station, they found him dead. The news of his death spread and an angry mob started raising slogans against the administration and police barbarism. People wanted that the policemen should be medically examined as they were reported to have consumed liquor. However, no doctor of the local Government Hospital was found on duty which further flared the situation.

Tension kept brewing until the SDM intervened and action was taken against six police personnel. They are Ujagar Singh, station in charge, Gharsa Ram, ASI, Kuldip Singh, head constable, Maha Singh and Krishan Kumar, both constables, and jeep driver Naveen Kumar.

The body was sent to the Civil Hospital for a post-mortem from where a panel of three doctors sent the body to Rohtak Medical College.