HORRENDOUS: Father Raped 13-Year-Old Daughter for Two Years, Then Murdered Her – in Kalimpong

HORRENDOUS: Father Raped 13-Year-Old Daughter for Two Years, Then Murdered Her – in Kalimpong

Kalimpong , 13 Dec (TDC) : “My father has made my life hell, I fear someday, I may die” – perhaps the 13-year-old girl, whose dead body was recovered by police yesterday knew she didn’t have long to live.

Her friends from the village, who heard her say “My father has made my life hell, I fear someday, I may die” were children like her, and they didn’t know what she meant. The little girl who died, never got a chance to tell them the whole truth. Most of her friends are in shock.

Jaldhaka police have arrested 45-years-old Shukra Bahadur Pradhan from the remote Lower Godak village, on charges of murdering his own daughter. They were in for a shock, when the culprit confessed to also repeatedly raping his daughter for the past two years. This grotesque episode of human depravity just doesn’t end there. After murdering her, Shukra had audaciously buried his daughter next to his house, hoping it would cover his crime.

According to sources, Shukra Bahadur Pradhan was a very controlling person. He never allowed his daughter to mingle with anyone else. If she got delayed even by minutes while coming from somewhere, he would literally make her life hell, by brutally beating her up. The neighbours also informed the press that, he used to brutalize his wife too, because of which, she had left him roughly two years ago.

On the night of the 9th of December, the little girl had been delayed similarly, he went on to brutalize her, and later killed her. He then attempted to hide his crime by burying her right next to his house. On the 10th of December, informed had his nephew that his daughter had committed suicide the night before, “so I buried her.”

Shocked, his nephew went to inquire, and when he found the place where the little girl had been buried, he raised alarm. This brought other people from the village there, and gradually the truth came out.

When Jaldhaka Police OC Nilam Sanjeev Kujur conducted preliminary interrogation/inquiry at the site of murder, Shukra Bahadur Pradhan told him, in front of the press, how she had threatened to expose his repeatedly raping her, and he ended up killing her.

This incident has left everyone in the village numb, with his own family members now asking for a death sentence for him.

Police have recovered the dead body of the little girl, and have sent it for autopsy. Meanwhile, Shukra Bahadur Pradhan was presented at the Kalimpong District Court, and the court has sent him on 7 days of police custody. Cases have been filed against him under sections IPC 302, 201 and POCSO RW Section 6.

Source The Darjeeling Chronicles

NO SAATHI CAME TO THEIR RESCUE – Father murders disabled son, hangs himself in Dooars

People in North Bengal have suffered utter deprivation, discrimination and administrative apathy for so long, that the news of a father killing his disabled son and hanging himself, due to them not being able to afford an operation hasn’t even made headlines in local news outlets. So many have died in the past due to starvation, lack of health care, lack of medicines in Dooars that two more added to the stats, no matter how grotesque the deaths were, didn’t even register a bleep in the local news cycle, let alone regional or national news. The news of this desperation lead murder-suicide was perhaps not even considered newsworthy.

DESPERATE FATHER
Baroghoria Gram, which falls under Kranti police station in the Malbazar sub-division of Alipurduar District where the incident took place, is like every other typical village in Dooars, North Bengal. It is predominantly an Adivasi village, and there is not much to write about in terms of infrastructure. Suffice it to say, infrastructure in the form of basic health care is nonexistent. Abhiraj Oroan - a tribal child was born in this faraway village with imperforate anus - a rare birth disorder where the child has an improperly developed anus, and therefore can't pass stool normally from their rectum out of their body. He would release stool through a small hole in his navel.

His father Pandit Oroan (35) was desperate, with a very limited income. He was desperate to have his son operated on, a date for which was set towards the end of December this year. This operation, known as anoplasty, could have opened up Abhiraj’s rectum and the child would have been able to have a normal stool procedure. Sadly the operation cost money, which Pandit Oroan didn’t have.

Unable to collect funds needed to pay for the operation, Pandit took the most unfortunate decision.

His wife, who is still in grief stated, “around 7 PM on the 2nd of December he took the child out... I didn’t think much, only later we found that he had drowned the baby in the well behind the house and had hung himself by the tree.”

FAILED SYSTEM
Across India, the Central Government has introduced “Ayushman Bharat” scheme, which provides for up to Rs 5 Lakhs health insurance per year to economically marginalized families, and has helped hundreds of thousands of people like Pandit Oroan. However in West Bengal, the benefits of this scheme are yet to percolate down to the grassroots level. Bengal has resisted the introduction of Ayushman Bharat scheme, instead they are adamant on increasing the scope of their existing “Swasthya Sathi” scheme.

In Bengal, the state government had started a group health scheme “Swasthya Sathi” - that covers mostly contractual and part-time government employees, back in 2016, and they have shown their willingness to join the Ayushman Bharat scheme, but the modalities are yet to be worked out. This has left millions of economically marginalized families deprived. Though “Swasthya Sathi” scheme does call for inclusion of “deprived sections of the society” in its fold, on the ground the scheme is yet to reach deprived families, like that of Pandit Oraon.

Back in Barogharia Gram as the news of this murder-suicide spread, locals along with police officials rushed to the site of the incident. While a huge crowd had gathered after their death, the father-son didn’t have any saathi to count on, when they needed help the most.

As the Bengal government has been unable to provide proper health care support to the marginalized families, shouldn’t they ethically step aside, and permit the Central government scheme to take care of them?

Many have started to ask.

Source : thedarjeelingchronicle

Tata Motors inaugurates its new passenger vehicles showroom in Siliguri

-Unveils the All New Tigor and announces Bookings open for the much awaited Harrier-

Siliguri, October 26, 2018: Tata Motors launched a new state-of-the-art full-range passenger vehicle showroom and workshop, M/s Rangeet Auto, in Siliguri today. Expanding its class leading automotive experience, the inauguration of this showroom and workshop is a step forward towards Tata Motors’ aggressive network expansion plans, in line with its Turnaround 2.0 strategy.

At the same occasion, the Company also unveiled the all new Tigor in Siliguri and announced the bookings open of its much awaited SUV based on the revolutionary architecture and derived from Land Rover’s legendary D8 architecture – The Tata Harrier. While the customers can book the HARRIER with an amount of INR 30,000 on www.tataharrier.com or by visiting the nearest Tata Motors authorized dealership, the all new Tigor can be purchased at all authorized Tata Motors dealerships at a starting price of INR. 5.17 Lakhs for the petrol variant (powered by the 1.2L Revotron) and INR. 6.05 Lakhs for the diesel variant (powered by the 1.05L Revotorq), ex – showroom, Siliguri.

Commenting at the event, Mr. S N Barman - Vice President, Sales, Marketing & Customer Support, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit - “With ‘Connecting Aspirations’ at the center of our brand promise, we at Tata Motors are working with our network partners to offer our customers a solid product mix and a delightful experience. We continue to enhance and expand our product line up and network to cater to our demanding customers with high expectations. As part of our Turnaround 2.0 journey, we are concentrating on optimizing various business levers and focusing on strengthening our sales network and customer experience, in order to enhance performance and profitability. The launch of this dealership is a step forward in that direction.”

 

According to Mr. Amit Aggarwal, Dealer Principal, Rangeet Auto Pvt Ltd, “We are delighted to partner with Tata Motors and are extremely happy to launch this showroom today in Siliguri. With a commitment to provide best in class purchase experience during sales to all our customers, we look forward to working with Tata Motors and strengthen our relationship in the years to come.”

The Company has 2 dealerships in Siliguri and boasts of 28 showrooms in West Bengal overall. Spanning across 4000 sq. ft. of area, this newly inaugurated showroom is strategically located in Sevoke Road, and will cater to the aspiring customers of the city with a stunning range of new generation passenger cars from Tata Motors.  At the launch, Mr. Barman also unveiled the next generation compact sedan, all new Tata Tigor. With exclusively styled interiors and exteriors, this premium compact sedan will be available in petrol (powered by the 1.2L Revotron) and diesel (powered by the 1.05L Revotorq) variants, across all Tata Motors authorized sales outlets.

 

Equipped with the latest technology, this new showroom will retail the new generation PV line-up. The company also offers a workshop to its customers which is equipped with latest equipment and advanced mechanization and automation. Tata Motors aims to increase its reach aggressively and through these showrooms it will continue to offer best value and experience to customers. Tata Motors’ Turnaround 2.0 journey will continue to focus on ‘Winning sustainably in PVs’ with an objective to increase market presence and drive volumes in PVs.

 

-Ends-

About Tata Motors

Tata Motors Limited (BSE: TATAMOTORS), a USD 45 billion organisation, is a leading global automobile manufacturer of cars, utility vehicles, buses, trucks and defence vehicles. Part of the USD 100 billion Tata group, Tata Motors is India’s largest and the only OEM offering extensive range of integrated, smart and e-mobility solutions. Tata Motors has operations in the UK, South Korea, Thailand, South Africa, and Indonesia through a strong global network of 109 subsidiary and associate companies, including Jaguar Land Rover in the UK and Tata Daewoo in South Korea.

With a focus on engineering and tech enabled automotive solutions catering to the future of mobility, Tata Motors is India’s market leader in commercial vehicles and amongst the top four in the passenger vehicles market. With ‘Connecting Aspirations’ at the core of its brand promise, the company’s innovation efforts are focused to develop pioneering technologies that are sustainable as well as suited to evolving aspirations of the market and the customers. Tata Motors strives to bring new products that fire the imagination of GenNext customers, fueled by state of the art design and R&D centers located in India, the UK, Italy and Korea. Internationally, Tata commercial and passenger vehicles are marketed in countries, spread across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, South East Asia, South America, Australia, CIS, and Russia.

To know more, please visit (www.tatamotors.com; also follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TataMotors)

Media Contact Information

Tata Motors Corporate Communications E-mail: indiacorpcomm@tatamotors.com
Tel: +91 22-66657613 www.tatamotors.com 

OUR DAUGHTERS, OUR PRIDE: SWASTIKA LAMA – 1ST CLASS 1ST GOLD MEDAL – MA HISTORY

TheTD team CONGRATULATES our young scholars who have brought pride and joy to the community due to their outstanding achievement in the field of academia.

Today we are celebrating Ms. Swastika Lama, for being awarded Gold Medal in MA (History)

Swastika Lama the daughter of Mrs. Sunita Rai Lama and Mr. Tendup Lama a resident of Tukdah T.E, Darjeeling was awarded a Gold Medal from the North Bengal University on her exceptional achievement in M.A History.

She completed her schooling from St. Joseph Girls High School and St. Alphonsus Higher secondary School, Kurseong.respectively.

She completed her B.A Honours in History from St.Josephs College Darjeeling.

In addition to winning the Gold Medal, she is also a recipient of the Prestigious Suroj Mohini Debi Medal, an endowment award for excellency in academics.The Suroj Mohini Debi Medal is given by Sir Nirpen Bakshi.

Currently she is pursuing her MPhil degree in History, with specialization in the Eastern Himalayan History.

In coming from the humble background of a small town school, and going on to win the Gold Medal by topping the University, Swastika has shown that our Gorkha daughters can match and out match anyone in the world.

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Please note that we will be sharing more such scholars in the coming days, if you know of any Gold or Silver Medal winners from our region, please send us their details

Landslides hit roads to Sikkim and Dooars

Landslides in the past 24 hours on two key highways linking Gangtok, Kalimpong and the Dooars with Siliguri have hit traffic, with the travel taking longer because of clearing operations and forced detours.

The two affected roads are NH-10, which links Kalimpong and Sikkim, and NH-31C that connects the Dooars. Heavy downpour has been blamed for the landslides.

A 20m stretch caved in on NH-10 on Thursday at 29 Mile, around 70km from Gangtok. An entire portion has been wiped away on NH-31C. On Tuesday, a landslide on NH-31C at Mongpong had devoured a portion of the highway.

Vehicles going uphill and those heading towards Siliguri had to take a detour of 50-60km. "We were coming from Sikkim and had a flight at 6pm from Bagdogra. We had to cross the stretch on foot and scout for vehicles on the other side," a tourist said.

A PWD official said excavators had to be used to cut the hillside to broaden the road and enable heavy vehicles to pass. Also, the void that has formed after the cave-in needs to be filled up so that the road can be rebuilt.

"We are not very sure whether traffic movement would be possible when repairs will start. Given the importance of this highway, the repairs cannot be delayed," added the official.

Vishwanath, the district magistrate of Kalimpong, said the incessant rain was slowing repairs. "As the rains have not stopped, the soil is not firming up. This is why repairs are getting delayed."

Via : Telegraph

महिलाओं ने की अवैध शराब के खिलाफ आंदोलन की घोषणा

Source : Prabhat Khabar 

अधिकारियों की मौजूदगी में बागान प्रबंधक को सौंपा ज्ञापन

नशे के फेर में घरों का सामान बेच रहे पुरुष : सुषमा

नागराकाटा : चेंगमारी चाय बागान में अवैध शराब की बिक्री को रोकने के लिये महिला श्रमिकों ने आंदोलन की घोषणा की है. बुधवार शाम को चाय बागान में आयोजित सभा में स्थानीय महिला श्रमिकों ने अवैध शराब कारोबार को हटाने के लिये एक सप्ताह का मोहलत दिया है. महिला श्रमिकों ने कहा है कि अगर सात दिनों के अंदर नहीं हटाया गया तो अवैध कारोबार करने वालों के दुकानों को जला दिया जायेगा. 

इलाके के लोगों के अनुसार जिस तरह से आक्रोशित होकर नागराकाटा ब्लॉक की महिला चाय श्रमिक इस अभियान में आगे बढ़ी हैं. उसे देखकर लगता है कि डुआर्स नशेड़ियों के चंगुल से मुक्त होकर रहेगा. 

स्थानीय सूत्रों से मिली जानकारी के अनुसार चेंगमारी चाय बागान में यहां की महिला चाय श्रमिकों ने पिछले 2002 से अवैध शराब व चुलाई दारु को पूरे तरह से बंद कर रखा है. लेकिन पिछले कुछ वर्षो से फिर से अवैध शराब का धंधा इलाके में पैर पसारना शुरु कर दिया है. भूटान निकट होने के कारण कुछ अवैध कारोबारी बागान इलाके के लाईन में मदिरा बिक्री कर रहे हैं. कुछ पैसों के लालच में नकली शराब भी इलाके में बिक्री किया जा रहा है. जिसके कारण चाय बागान के कुछ पुरुष श्रमिक जो शराब में लिप्त हैं, वे घर के बर्तन, टीवी, साईकल तक बिक्री कर सेवन करने लगे हैं. 

जिसके पास पैसा नहीं होता है, वह घर का सामान बिक्री कर शराब पीते हैं. नागराकाटा तृणमूल सभापति एवं चाय श्रमिक नेता अमरनाथ झा ने बताया कि मदिरा के कारण चाय बागान का परिवेश खराब हो रहा है. जिसे हम कतई बरदास्त नहीं करेंगे. 

महिलाओं ने जो कदम उठाया है मैं इसका समर्थन करता हूं. चाय बागान प्रबंधन अविनाश देव ने कहा कि महिलाओं ने मुझे एक ज्ञापन पत्र दिया है. इस विषय को हमारी ओर से पुलिस प्रशासन को अवगत कर दिया गया है. टी एसोसिशन ऑफ इंडिया डुआर्स शाखा के सचिव राम अवतार शर्मा ने बताया कि इस तरह अवैध मदिरा बिक्री के खिलाफ सभी चाय बागान की महिलाओं एकजूट होना चाहिए. चेंगमारी महिला चाय श्रमिकों का कदम सहरानीय है. 

नागराकाटा थाना प्रभारी सैकत भद्र ने बताया सभा में हमारे पुलिस अधिकारी भी मौजूद थे. महिलाओं ने साफ कह दिया है कि चाय बागानों में अवैध शराब बिक्री किसी भी हालत में नहीं होने दिया जाएगा. पुलिस इस तरह के अवैध शराब बिक्री के खिलाफ कड़ा कदम उठायेगी.

स्थानीय महिलाओं का आरोप है कि पछले सात वर्षो में मदिरा सेवन कर कई लोगों ने अपनी जान गंवा दी है. इन आरोपों को चाय बागान के श्रमिक नेताओं ने भी स्वीकार किया है. चाय बागान में आयोजित सभा में यूनियन नेताओं के अलावा नागराकाटा थाना अधिकारी भी उपस्थित थे. बैंठक में निर्णय लिया गया है कि यदि चाय बागान में कोई भी परिवार शराब बिक्री करता है तो उन्हें बागान से निलंबित कर दिया जाएगा. 

उन्हें बागान से मिलनेवाले लकड़ी एवं अन्य सुख-सुविधा भी बंद कर दिया जाएगा. इन मांगों को लेकर सभा में उपस्थित चाय प्रबंधन को महिला चाय श्रमिकों की ओर से एक लिखित ज्ञापन पत्र दिया गया. बागान के प्रेम नगर, शिरबंदी लाईन, बलिराम लाईन, गोपाल लाईन, राम लाईन, कोठी लाईन में अवैध शराब का धंधा सबसे ज्यादा है. 

चाय बागान के नागराकाटा पंचायत समिति के भूतपूर्व सदस्य सुषमा टोप्टो, लुकसान ग्राम पंचायत की नव निवार्चित पंचायत सदस्य तथा श्रमिक सरस्वती कुजूर, सुनीता कुजूर, सरोजनी हेमरोम ने बताया कि शराब सेवन कर परिवार में अशांति होने लगा है. कई पुरुष काम में भी नहीं जाते हैं

 

OUR DAUGHTERS, OUR PRIDE: From Sweeping Dhaba Floor to Winning Gold for India - Kavita is Inspirational

Writes: Suresh Sharma

For most of her life, Kavita Thakur, a member of the Indian women's kabaddi team, lived in a cramped dhaba at her village Jagatsukh, 6km from Manali, Himachal Pradesh.

The 24-year-old, who helped India win gold at the 2014 Asiad, spent her childhood and teen years washing utensils and sweeping floors at the dhaba, which is run by her parents. Father Prithvi Singh and mother Krishna Devi still sell tea and snacks at the dhaba, while elder sister Kalpana gives them a helping hand.

"Even I used to work with my parents at the dhaba. I washed utensils, swept floors and did several other chores," Kavita tells TOI.

"My childhood and teenage years were very difficult. In winter, we slept in the back of our shop on the floor. It was unbearable since the floor felt like ice. Back then we didn't have money to buy mattresses. There were days when we didn't make any money and we all went hungry," she adds.

'Took up kabaddi as it was not costly'

The gold medal at the 2014 Asiad shot her into limelight and the state government also pitched in with some financial assistance. Kavita and her family - parents, elder sister and younger brother Ashok Singh - have now moved to a rented accommodation near Manali town. "It was the happiest moment of my life when I could give my parents a proper house to live in," says Kavita. "My younger brother can now get good education."

"It is Kavita's hard work and determination that has given us a roof over our heads. Some years ago, we couldn't even think of living anywhere else other than our dhaba. We wish she brings more laurels for the country," says mother Krishna Devi.

Kavita started playing kabaddi at her school in 2007. "I took up kabaddi because it wasn't a costly sport," she says. "In fact, my elder sister was a better kabaddi player than me, but she had to give up her dream of playing the sport at the highest level in order to help my parents at the dhaba."

After putting in some consistent performances at the national level, Kavita joined the Sports Authority of India in Dharamshala in 2009. "At SAI, I concentrated on my game and gave my best. Soon, I was selected in the national team. My sister and parents always supported me. They wanted me to follow my passion. I would have never played for the Indian team without their unflinching support."

"Subsequently, government support came in and that helped me to concentrate on my game and not worry about where the next meal was coming from," she adds.

In 2011, Kavita had to take a break from the sport for six months after she was diagnosed with a digestive system ailment. "There was a massive breakdown in my digestive system. I was hospitalised for quite some time, and I was worried that I would never be able to return and play the sport again," Kavita remembers.

But she made a roaring comeback the next year, helping India win gold at the 2012 Asian Kabaddi Championship. Kavita is a defender in the nine-member women's team that will represent India at the 2018 Asiad. "In the last Asian Games, when we won the gold medal, I was an all-rounder. But, two years ago, our national coach told me to focus on one aspect of the game. And then I became a full-time defender," says the 24-year-old.

[Via: Times of India]