Pratiksha Upadhyaya

Siliguri:

Fake currency racket

One Milan Subba, a suspected kingpin in a racket involving fake currency notes and sex-trade, was arrested along with two of his accomplishes, Baijnath Saha and Prasad Yadav, Intelligence Branch (IB) officials at Pradhan Nagar, Siliguri, confirmed on Monday. Currency notes of INR 500 denomination, totalling INRs 1,76,000, were seized from them, according to IB officer Tshering Lepcha. A motor cycle in which the fake notes had been hidden and a mobile phone set were also seized. While Subba hails from nearby Jalpaiguri district, Saha and Yadav are locals of Siliguri who were allegedly helping the former in getting customers for him to sell the fake notes, it is further learnt. Subba is also known to have been involved in flesh trade and has been facing charges of luring young Nepali girls into the trade in Mumbai and elsewhere on false promises of securing jobs for them. IB sources are currently trying to ascertain whether the fake currency notes were being brought into India from Nepal or Bhutan, where Subba is suspected to have good contacts. The officials also have a hunch that the source of origin could be Bangladesh.

SI shoots self

Devdas Rai, a sub inspector of the Sikkim police, shot himself with his service revolver on Wednesday. The incident took place at Tadong while he was reportedly having a good time along with his friends, all of whom have been arrested for investigation.

Hubby nabbed

Ajay Kumar, a resident of Siliguri, has been arrested on charges of attempting to kill his wife Alpana at the BSF jungle near Desbandhupara here on Tuesday. Incidentally, the incident took place on a local festival known as Jamaai Sasthi, a day when the Bengalis invite their sons-in-law and treat them with delicious food and gifts. Ajay Kumar was reportedly heading towards his wife’s maternal home to join the festivity with his wife, but he attacked Alpana with a sharp weapon on the way. Although the woman escaped with a severe cut in her wrist, her condition is said to be critical.

‘Sikkim Ratna’ for Kazi

Kazi Lendup Dorjee Khang Sherpa, Sikkim’s first chief minister after its merger with India in 1975, will be honoured with ‘Sikkim Ratna,’ a newly established award, on 15th August at the hands of the Indian President, it is officially learnt. Kazi has already been honoured with awards like the Padmabhusan earlier. He will also mark his 100th birthday in August.

Father kills daughter

Mahadeb Karmakar of Burnpur was arrested on charges of murdering his new-born daughter on Wednesday. It is said he had desired a son, but disappointed at the birth of a daughter, stealthily lifted her from the bed at night and threw her into a septic tank. His wife raised a hue and cry on finding her daughter missing and Karmakar confessed his crime after neighbours started bashing him up.

Three killed

While a Siliguri cricketer was killed and two of his friends injured when their Maruti car collided with a truck at Dhupguri near here on Tuesday, two contract labourers were buried alive when a chunk of land caved in while digging work was underway for the construction of the Naldubi village near Malda in North Bengal on Thursday.