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The robbery took place on May 5 around 11.45 am when the two employees of a private foreign exchange company took a taxi from S N Banerjee Road to deposit the funds to a state-run bank in Park Circus area of the metropolis.

 Kolkata Police assistant sub-inspector was on Wednesday arrested for his alleged involvement in the loot of Rs 2.66 crore from two employees of a private firm while they were travelling in a taxi in Entally area here, officials said.

The robbery took place on May 5 around 11.45 am when the two employees of a private foreign exchange company took a taxi from S N Banerjee Road to deposit the funds to a state-run bank in Park Circus area of the metropolis.

“The ASI had planned the entire robbery. We have arrested him,” a police officer said, without elaborating.

The employees of the company had claimed that two unidentified persons had got inside the taxi after forcing the driver to stop near Kamardanga, following which they escaped with the money.

The detective department of the Kolkata Police started an investigation after receiving a complaint.

With the arrest of the ASI, four persons have so far been apprehended, including a staff of the firm, in connection with the robbery, police said.

Further investigation is underway. 

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also spoke to the Adhikary’s wife over the phone and said that her government is taking steps to bring back the body to their Kolkata home.

West Bengal minister Aroop Biswas on Tuesday met the family members of Bitan Adhikary, a 40-year-old IT professional from the state who was killed in a deadly terrorist attack near Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, and assured them of all support in bringing back the body.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also spoke to the Adhikary’s wife over the phone and said that her government is taking steps to bring back the body to their Kolkata home.

Adhikary had travelled to Kashmir last week with his wife and son for a holiday. While his family members are safe, he lost his life in the terror strike.

“The state Home Department and the Resident Commissioner in New Delhi are in touch with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Jammu and Kashmir government to ensure that the man’s body is brought back to the state at the earliest,” Biswas said after meeting the bereaved family at their residence.

“The body is currently at Srinagar General Hospital. It will be sent back after the post-mortem examination is completed,” he added.

The CM condemned the attack as an “inhuman act of terror” and said that her heart goes out to the families of the victims.

In a post on X, CM Banerjee said, “My heart goes out to the families of the victims of the devastating terrorist attack on the tourists in Jammu and Kashmir today. One of the victims, Sri Bitan Adhikari, is from West Bengal. I have talked with his wife over phone. Though no words are enough to console her in this hour of grief, I have assured her that my government is taking all steps to bring back his mortal remains to his house at Kolkata.” “My deepest condolences to all the families who have lost their loved ones in this inhuman act of terror,” she added.

A relative of the the person who died said, “I spoke to my younger brother this morning. He told me that once he returned from Kashmir, we would plan an extended holiday nearby. We had no idea it would be the last time we’d speak.” The attack took place on Tuesday afternoon near a popular meadow close to Pahalgam town in Kashmir, leaving at least 26 people dead, most of them tourists.

A senior official confirmed that among the victims were two foreign nationals and two locals. He also warned that the death count could rise as several of the injured remain in critical condition.

This has been described as the deadliest attack in Kashmir Valley since the Pulwama terror strike in 2019.

The terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on tourists killed 26 people, mostly tourists, including one Nepalese national, who were brutally gunned down.

Trinamool Congress General Secretary and party Lok Sabha member Abhishek Banerjee, on Sunday, asked the Union government to initiate action in reclaiming Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

“Mere ‘surgical strikes’ or ‘symbolic threats’ to Pakistan will not be enough after the Pahalgam attack. It’s time to teach them a lesson in the language they understand. It’s time to reclaim Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Period,” said the Trinamool MP.

He also criticised the Union government for allegedly pushing a narrative instead of investigating the lapses that led to the Pahalgam attack.

“Over the past few days, I have been closely following the conduct of the mainstream media and those at the helm of the Union government. Instead of deeply investigating the lapses that led to this unprecedented terror attack in Pahalgam, they seem more focused on pushing a narrative that benefits a particular political party,” Banerjee said without directly naming the BJP.

He also said that it is high time that all concerned rise above petty politics and confront this issue decisively, once and for all.

Trinamool Congress leadership has already announced that they will be backing any efforts by the Union government in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack.

Of the several tourists killed in the Pahalgam attack, three were from West Bengal, and one of them was a Central Intelligence Bureau official.

After the Pahalgam attack a resident from Nadia district of West Bengal, Havaldar Jhantu Ali Sheikh, who was attached to the Para Special Forces of the Indian army, was also killed in an ambush by the terrorist last week.

The devastating fire at a private budget hotel on Tuesday left 14 people, mostly visitors to the city, dead. The victims included a woman and two children.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday visited the fire-ravaged hotel in central Kolkata and announced that those responsible for the death of 14 people will not be spared.

Ms Banerjee reached the Mechhua Falpatti area of Burrabazar on her way back from Digha and said that special committees comprising police, administration and fire services department are being set up to monitor and identify establishments which are flouting fire safety norms.

“The teams will conduct surprise checks in the city as well as district towns. Those in the administration found guilty of oversight and handing operational NOCs to buildings with inadequate fire safety will also come under the purview of punishment,” she said.

“The panels will prepare reports and submit them to my office in the next 15 days,” the Chief Minister added.

The devastating fire at a private budget hotel on Tuesday left 14 people, mostly visitors to the city, dead. The victims included a woman and two children.

In his report, he suggested a slew of measures, including setting up an inquiry commission and outposts of central forces in districts bordering Bangladesh

West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose has submitted a report on the recent riots in Murshidabad district to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, mentioning that the “twin spectre of radicalisation and militancy” poses a serious challenge to the state.

In his report, he suggested a slew of measures, including setting up an inquiry commission and outposts of central forces in districts bordering Bangladesh, besides writing, “needless to add, the provisions under Article 356 of the Constitution also remain”.

Asked about the mention of “the provisions under Article 356 of the Constitution” in the report, an official told PTI, “The governor has not proposed for implementation of Article 356. He meant to say that the provisions of Article 356 of the Constitution are open to the Centre if the situation in the state further deteriorates.” The imposition of Article 356 of the Constitution refers to the President’s rule in a state.

The governor also expressed apprehension about a “spillover” of the Murshidabad violence to other districts of the state and recommended that the central government should consider “constitutional options to put a check on the current situation besides generating confidence of people in the rule of law”.

The twin spectre of radicalisation and militancy poses a serious challenge for West Bengal, especially in two of the several districts sharing an international border with Bangladesh, viz., Murshidabad and Malda. In both these districts, there is an adverse demographic composition with Hindus being minorities. Another district, viz., Uttar Dinajpur, has a plurality,” Mr Bose mentioned in his report, a copy of which is with PTI.

The governor suggested several measures in the aftermath of violence that claimed the lives of at least three people, including a man and his son, and left several injured. The riot occurred amid anti-Waqf (Amendment) Act protests.

“Formulating an overarching legislation to empower the Union Government to maintain law and order when the state machinery fails to act effectively. Appointing a commission of Inquiry under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, to look into the reported acts of omission and commission as indicated above and to suggest measures to prevent such incidents in future and needless to add, the provisions under Article 356 of the Constitution also remain,” the report mentioned.

Of late, there are “indications of radicalisation and polarisation”, it said.

“The divisions are so deep that even in the face of escalation of violence, the chief minister’s repeated ‘undertaking’ that she would protect minority interests, and that the Act would not be implemented in the state, have done little to assuage the Muslim community or stem the tide. It is imperative that the rule of law must be firmly established, and the police must prevent violence,” Mr Bose wrote in the report.

The governor also said, “To go by the history of political violence that the state is prone to and from the spillover effect that the Murshidabad violence had over other districts in the state, may I suggest that the Government of India considers the Constitutional options not only to put a check on the current situation but also to generate confidence of people in the rule of law.”

In the report, the Bengal governor also claimed that the riots appeared “premeditated” and the state government was “aware of the imminent build-up of a threat to law and order in Murshidabad”.

“As the Notification of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 was issued on 08.04.2025, conflagration unfolded in Murshidabad district that spiralled out of control and continued for several days. On 08.04.2025, the state government promulgated temporary suspension order of internet…Thus, the state government was aware of the imminent build-up of threat to law and order in Murshidabad,” Mr Bose alleged in his report.

It was expected that the state government also put in place a “viable security mechanism on the ground that could prevent any occurrence and escalation of violence”, he said.

“Clearly, the sequence of events that unfolded shows the woeful lack of coordination among administration and law enforcement agencies that were either too feeble to rise up to the challenge or were reluctant to do so,” Mr Bose alleged.

The ruling TMC functionaries and the state government officials could not be reached for their comments on the governor’s report.

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