Couple suicide

Durgapur, Sept. 9: Prabir Sarkar, 28, hanged himself last night after poisoning his wife Basanti, 25, an AIDS patient for whom the couple had been “boycotted” in their locality.

The young man, a daily-wager who quit school after Class VIII, left behind a note saying he loved his wife “more than his life” and would not have been able to live without her. Basanti, a post-graduate in history, had married the resident of Sukantanagar in the Coke Oven area, about 200 km from Calcutta, four years ago. Peeyush Pandey, the Burdwan police chief, said: “She was suffering from AIDS for the past six months.” Basanti had been hospitalised with multiple ailments 10 days ago and forcibly brought home by her husband last night, doctors said.

MLA arrested

Behrampore: Congress-backed Independent MLA from Hariharpara Niyamat Sheikh was arrested after Congress worker Samiul Chow- dhury was shot at on Friday morning. Police said Chowdhury was attacked when Congress supporters clashed. Sheikh was held on the basis of Chowdhury’s statement.