Tiger count

Calcutta, July 4: The government is contem- plating a tiger census in November following allegations that the present figure is incorrect.

“According to the 2006 census, the number of tigers in the state is 344. However, we got complaints that the figure was not proper.... So, we are thinking of conducting a fresh census,” forest minister Ananta Ray told the Assembly. He added that efforts to radio collar Sunderbans tigers had failed because its saline water made them ineffective.

Temple death

Calcutta: A priest was electrocuted in a Bhowanipore temple on Friday night. Police said Harikanta Thakur, 60, a resident of Katuakhati Lane, had touched a live wire while offering a special puja on the occasion of Rath Yatra around 9pm. Local residents alleged that he was murdered by a man trying to build a housing complex there.

Omelette row

Krishnagar: A woman set herself ablaze in a Nadia village on Thursday after being slighted by her father-in-law for not making omelettes for the rest of the family, watching the India-Sri Lanka cricket match on TV. Seeing his daughter-in-law in flames, 65-year-old Gopal Burman jumped to her rescue and burnt himself. Nayantara, 25, and Gopal died at the district hospital here.