Police assault

Raiganj, Nov. 10: Two journalists were thrashed by police constables here on Friday morning while reporting an incident in which a fruit vendor had been shot through the abdomen by a policeman.

Sanjit Mukherjee and Swarup Dutta have been hospitalised. Dutta is said to be in a critical condition. Witnesses said he was kicked and punched for about 15 minutes. North Dinajpur superintendent P.K. Sanyal said constable Pintu Sen was loading his rifle when it went off accidentally and hit fruit seller Kartik Pramanik. Sen has been suspended. A probe into the constables’ conduct has been ordered.

Tram tracks

Calcutta: The transport department will soon initiate phase II of concretisation of tram tracks. Areas like Rashbehari and Gariahat will be covered in this phase, transport minister Subhas Chakraborty said at Writers’ Buildings. Over 60 km of tracks will be laid on concrete at a cost of Rs 20 crore. Work on the first phase will be completed by June, the minister added.

Nivedita

Calcutta: The government has decided to acquire and refurbish Sister Nivedita’s house in Bose Para Lane in Bagbazar and hand it over to the Ramakrishna Sarada Mission. The mission had earlier requested chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to acquire the house.

JU takeover

Calcutta: Jadavpur University has decided to absorb National Instruments, a central public sector unit, along with its existing employees. However, the Union heavy industries and public enterprises ministry wants the state to pay the dues, amounting to Rs 3 crore. The chief minister will write a letter asking the Centre to bear the burden.

Girl missing

Calcutta: A teenager who went missing from her Thakurpukur house in September was sold off in Bangalore by two local youths, her mother has told police. Another girl, also taken to Bangalore, apparently returned two days ago and tipped her off.

Boy dead

Calcutta: A boy’s body was found floating in a pond on the Maidan on Friday afternoon. Police said the boy, who is yet to be identified, was in blue shorts. No injury mark was found on him. He could have slipped into the pond, the police added.