Stick for acting tough

Midnapore, Nov. 1: The East Midnapore assistant chief medical officer of health has been asked to go on leave apparently for moving against doctors who had been neglecting duty.

Subrata Dutta, the chief medical officer, said Sankar Prasad Mandal should not have issued showcause notices to 11 doctors or transferred three medical officers in eight hospitals in Contai. The district is in desperate need of doctors to tackle enteric disease in the aftermath of the recent flood, Dutta said.

Power cuts

Calcutta: Parts of south Calcutta experienced power cuts for several hours on Diwali evening. Kasba, Haltu and stretches of Dhakuria plunged into darkness several times since 7 pm. A CESC official said a 6 KV feeder tripped, after which six transformers seized to function.

Oil racket

Howrah: Following the trail of a truck that disappeared with edible oil worth Rs. 3.9 lakh on the way to Siliguri from Haldia, police have traced a gang of oil thieves. Five hundred oil tins were found and a duo was held in Liluah.

Killer mother

Chinsurah: Passengers on a launch going from Naihati to Chinsurah across the Hooghly caught a woman trying to throw her four-year-old son into the water on Tuesday. Jashomati Tarafdar, 43, was handed over to police. An officer said the woman from Gaighata in North 24-Parganas told the police that goddess Kali had asked her to sacrifice her younger son in dreams.

Rape arrest

Suri: Swapan Sarkar, a middle-aged man, was arrested on Monday for allegedly raping a 15-year-old deaf-mute girl at Ganpur village in Birbhum. Police said Sarkar dragged her to a deserted temple in the locality, 280 km from Calcutta, and allegedly raped her. Residents caught him.

Dacoity foiled

Durgapur: A gang of about 20 raiding a closed factory in the Coke Oven area here had to flee in the face of villagers’ resistance, 200 km from Calcutta. The goons armed with improvised guns, rods and daggers left their loot behind.

Feast poison

Barasat: Over 200 people fell ill on Tuesday after a community feast to break Ramazan fast at Nurula village in Basirhat, North 24- Parganas. Forty people have been hospitalised.