Accused flee cop clutches

Gangtok, May 13: Nar Bahadur Kharka, who had throttled his one-year-old son to death and then killed his wife by hacking her on March 18, escaped from the clutches of the police while being produced in a court at Sichey this afternoon.

Superintendent of police of East Sikkim M.S. Tuli said Kharki had managed to give the police the slip while waiting for his case to be heard. “An alert has already been sounded and the police are keeping a vigil on all check posts,” he said. Kharka had been brought to court from the jail at Rongyek. Kharka’s five-year-old daughter was a witness to the incident and is currently staying with her maternal grandmother, the police said

Strikes off

Alipurduar: The Dooars Terai Coordination Committee of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad has withdrawn its strike called to demand the release of its two arrested members. “However, our jail bharo movement will be held on May 18,” said Rajesh Lakra, the secretary of the committee on Wednesday evening. The Parishad decision prompted the Birpara traders to withdraw the indefinite general strike that they had started from Wednesday.

Ganja haul

Siliguri: Cannabis worth Rs 1.10 crore was seized from a tanker by officials of the directorate of revenue intelligence near Fulbari on Tuesday night.

Timber seized

Siliguri: The mobile patrol of the Baikunthapur forest division seized teak timber worth Rs 1 lakh from Sukantanagar here on Wednesday.

Talent search

Siliguri: Avalon Academy, the aviation training wing of APTECH, has introduced Chhu Lu Aasmaan, a talent hunt aimed at providing a platform to would-be aviation experts. The event will be held in Calcutta, Siliguri Guwahati, Patna and Ranchi and selected contestants will participate in a regional-level final in Calcutta.