The City Diary

School caretaker shot and wounded The caretaker of Rahul Vidya Niketan, a home run by Durbar Mahila Samanway Committee at Ramnagar, in Baruipur, was shot and wounded by an extortionist on Sunday. He was admitted to M.R. Bangur Hospital in a critical condition. Police said three men, identified as Basudeb Mondal, Sujauddin and Bachcha, had demanded that the committee pay them Rs 5 lakh in two instalments. On Saturday, they asked for another Rs 5,000 as Kali puja subscription, which the authorities were unable to pay. Policeman in bridge mishap A police officer, Debdas Adhikari, was found unconscious on Vidyasagar Setu early on Sunday by another policeman, coming from Howrah. Adhikari was admitted to SSKM Hospital. Police said he may have been knocked down by a vehicle. Hooking arrests The CESC, with the police, conducted raids in the city and its adjacent areas and removed several hookings over the weekend.They also snapped the connections of some factories for tapping power. Seven persons, including the owner of a plastic factory, were arrested, sources said on Sunday. Imposter cops Two youths from Bhopal, Afsar Ali and Mohazar Ali, were arrested on Saturday night from Burrabazar on charges of impersonating policemen and fleecing several people of thousands of rupees. They had come from Bhopal a couple of months earlier. Several incriminating documents, including fake police identity cards, were seized. Anniversary The Renaissance Artists & Writers Association (RAWA), cultural wing of the Ananda Marga, organised a symposium on Sunday to mark the 20th anniversary of Prabhat Samgita. It also felicitated painter Ramananda Bandopadhyay. Thumbs Up O DILIP KUMAR ROY, Presidency College Alumni Association, for being awarded the Vocational Excellence Award 2002 of Rotary Club of Garden Reach