Enraged Cop Opens Fire on Mob

Furious over the sound of bursting crackers, a police officer in Bengal’s East Midnapore district allegedly opened fire on a mob leaving a man injured on Wednesday.

The incident took place in Egra when Sub divisional Police Officer Manoranjan Ghosh engaged into a heated argument with some of the local people who were celebrating Kali Puja in the area. Sources said the puja had been organized right in front of the office-cum-residence of the officer. The local people had started to burst crackers around 2am which was strongly opposed by the officer. After an argument broke out, the villagers agreed to stop bursting crackers.

But at around 6.30am a strong crowd of 300 people attacked the officer’s residence with bricks and stones. Many window glasses had been broken by the stones pelted by the villagers. Ghosh had shifted his daughter and wife to another room before coming out to control the mob. He shot a few rounds to calm the crowd and allegedly one of the bullets had hit a villager.

SP Alok Rajoria confirmed that a firing had taken place and said Ghosh’s house had been attacked by the mob. Ghosh has been transferred to the post of DSP of Counter Insurgency Force (CIF) after the incident took place. A probe has been ordered.

“A mob had gathered here and the broken window panes suggest they might have tried to attack the house. A probe has been ordered as to what actually happened and what led to the firing," said Rajoria.

India, Represented By Technicolor Taxis

With no serious thought till now for taxi fabric, its designs and fabrics, a Mumbai-based art-collective Taxi Fabric designed 26 taxis themed on the city beaches, mumbaikers and the famous dabbawallahs or the delivery men.

Interestingly, the taxis are vibrant, multicolored, animated designed and these 26 designs got featured in the music video for Coldplay's Hymn for the Weekend. According to reports, normally known as a creatively challenged city, Mumbai now has with it the exact answer to all its criticisms with the taxis.

Art director Sanket Avlani is the leader of the three young and enthusiastic designers who got inspired by the 1990’s and with Mumbai as their theme picked up their brushes to design a few cabs on separate themes. Avlani started the project last year with three fellow co-founders Nathalie Gordon, Mahak Malik, and Girish Narayandass. The team explained that Taxi Fabric brightens up Mumbai's normally drab taxis while also promoting the city's undervalued creative talent.

One taxi art, titled 'The good, the bad and the beautiful', was inspired by Filmy Chakkar, a 1990s comedy that was aired on India's Zee TV. Others even consist of abstract aspirations, thousand tools and mere cutting-chai glass. Avlani’s team asserted that they have thought regarding upgrading the vehicle and making it comfortable, but there was little thinking for the taxi seats and their designs. 

“The designs that cover the taxi seats are often dull and forgettable, but with the design talent Mumbai has to offer, this shouldn't be the case. The designers are local, the styles are inspired from all around the world, but the topic is still Mumbai,” says the enthusiastic design team. The team has more plans for Taxi Fabric in designing buses and subway trains. Gradually the team also plans to visit other cities and design vehicles there.

Lee Rahaman Dies At 49

Lee Reherman, the famous US actor and athlete, popularly known as ‘The Hawk,’ died late on Monday at Manhattan Beach, Calif. The actor was only 49.

Reherman was a former Ivy League footballer who came to fame as the muscular Hawk in the popular television show American Gladiators in the 1990s. The cause of the actor’s death is unknown, but his manager Kathy Carter confirmed that he was not in good health for the past few days.

A friend of Reherman mourned his death saying, “He was such a light of sunshine, always positive in good and bad times. He had so many fans, not just of Hawk or his Disney shows but just life fans. You can't forget Lee Reherman….He was one of my best friends.” The friend also added that Reherman would have celebrated his 50^th birthday if he was alive.

Reherman was a professional footballer before he joined the American Gladiators in 1993. The actor reached the peak of his fame and worked in popular shows like The X Files, NCIS, Chuck and The First Family. This was followed by Reherman’s continuous and steady contribution in television and in films for the next 20 years.

Simultaneously a popular host, Reherman hosted the popular TV show Hot Rod TV on Speed. The actor was equally prominent in small roles like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s movie Last Action Hero and Star Trek into Darkness. He made guest appearances on such TV shows as Ellen, Caroline in the City, Gilmore Girls and The Shield.

A versatile Reherman also produced several shows, including a documentary that was scheduled to release soon. The documentary, named as The League surrounds the purity and character-building of college football league.

Bangladesh Trashes Pakistan to Compete With India in the Finals: Asia Cup

The Asia Cup saw a superb all-rounder performance by Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on Wednesday defeating Pakistan by five wickets. Bangladesh’s performance tore down Pakistan’s hope to be in the Asia Cup finals against India.

With Bangladesh as one of the finalists, India also won its match against Sri Lanka and got selected for the finals.

According to cricket experts, a strong batting line will be set up for Sunday’s finals by Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh of India. On the other hand, the Bangladeshi team will consist of strong fast-paced bowlers paired with steady batsmen with Tamim Iqbal and Rubel Hossain being the pillars to smash down India with their bowling. Nasir Hossain and Mahmudullah Riyad are the batting walls to chase the scores.

In Wednesday’s match Bangladesh defeated their Asian counterpart, Pakistan for five wickets, with 129/7 in 20 overs. Pakistan had chosen to bat first. In the second innings, Soumya Sarkar made an impressive 48 as Bangladesh successfully chased the target scoring 131/5 in 19.1 overs. The next match, i.e. the final will be one of the much-awaited innings. The traffic will stop that day, said an ardent fan.

Three Hizbul Militants Killed In South Kashmir

Three Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed in an overnight encounter on Wednesday in the Tral area of South Kashmir's Pulwama district, according to reports. The dead militants have been identified as Ashiq Hussain Bhat, Mohammad Isaq Parray and Asif Ahmed Mir.

Army officers said that one of the militants named as Bhat was involved in providing shelter to the dead militants who were involved in the Udhampur attack that took place last October.

The encounter started on Wednesday evening as the Indian Army and police enclosed on the village. Security forces were launched following confidential information that confirmed the presence of militants in the area. According to the Army officers, the local villagers were not helpful to the armed forces. The villagers assembled together and started throwing stones as soon as the force cordoned-off the village to help the militants escape safely.

This was followed by the police and army nearing closing in on the area where the militants were sheltered. This information made the militants furious and those who had taken shelter in the village start firing at the forces. The firing continued for several hours on Wednesday night resulting in an encounter and which killed the Hizbul militants.

The police officers confirmed that three AK rifles have been recovered from the possession of the militants. The Army officers later confirmed that thorough search and sanitization operations are still being continued by the forces.

EPX Tax: FM Jaitley Would Respond To Every Concern

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday that he would respond to all the concerns that have been raised and followed by the row that erupted over the government’s proposal to tax the Employee Provident Funds (EPF).

An unexpected strike upon the EPF had issued a row in media and the social media for a couple of days following the announcement by Jaitley. The Finance minister had proposed in the budget that 40 percent of the withdrawals from the National Pension Scheme would be tax free and bring the EPF on a par with this. According to the finance ministry officials, the decision made by the ministry would make 60 percent of the EPF subject to tax. The deducted amount would not be withdrawn unless invested in an annuity.

According to reports, the nation will see a growth of 7 to 7.5 percent in the next fiscal year. EPF and GST (Goods and Services Tax) being the two developmental tools it is necessary to beat the target. Labor minister Bandaru Dattatreya said in context to the finance ministry confirmed their concern about the EPF tax during the question hour in the Rajya Sabha.

Shut Down Notice Served To Simpark Mall Authorities

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) sent a notice to Simpark Mall authorities to shut down the shopping and parking facility following an inspection from the fire brigade that had revealed insufficient fire safety facilities. The mall was further examined by the KMC mayor Sovan Chatterjee, corporation commissioner Khali Ahmed and the senior officials on Wednesday, reports EXIN Times.

Simpark Mall is an underground shopping and parking hub established almost a decade ago. The mall was under a public-private venture with the KMC that allows a shopping complex and its underground parking facility for 200 cars together. “We have inspected the market three to four times and found that it is being poorly managed. Smoke detectors are not functioning, there are no automatic sprinklers and there isn't enough water in the reservoir to douse a major fire. With cars being parked in the second basement, a fire can cause a catastrophe. The lives of shopkeepers and shoppers will be at stake,” said Gour Prasad Ghosh, the fire service director.

The West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services said they had posted a letter to the municipal corporation about a fortnight ago. However, the higher authorities also mentioned that they did not remember of closing the parking facility but admitted that if a fire starts in one section, it will soon spread to others.

Later, the mayor held an urgent meeting with the Simpark Mall Shopowners’ Association asking them to imply fire fighting facilities and upgrade the same. According to reports, the association disagreed with the proposal and the mayor asked the municipal commissioner to lodge an FIR and take necessary actions. Later, KMC handed over the fire department’s letter to Simpark Infrastructure Private Limited.