Basu ‘better’

Calcutta, Jan. 4: Jyoti Basu’s condition is improving gradually, doctors said today.

His haemoglobin level has gone up and the fever he had at the time of admission to a Salt Lake hospital on January 1 has not come back. Doctors said Basu, who has pneumonia, was responding to antibiotics. An aide said: “Jyotibabu is much better today. He does not want to stay in the hospital anymore.”

Teacher shot

Behrampore: A headmaster who had been accused of laundering school funds by Congress supporters a month ago was killed here in Murshidabad on Monday. Police said Panchanan Mondal, 55, the head of Shaktipur High School, was also the zonal president of the CPM-affiliated teachers’ union. He was shot on the way home from school, which reopened after a Christmas break on Monday.

Roads dug up

Midnapore: CPM activists dug up six gravelled roads in the Nayagram area of West Midnapore on Monday. The reason: to prevent Maoists from entering the area, 15km from the Orissa border. A CPM leader was killed there on Friday.

Duo shot: Maoists killed a CPM member in Belpahari and a tea stall owner in Pirakata on Sunday night. They were identified as Hekim Mura and Bapi Bakli.