
Chingrighata, Bypass bridge to get steel barriers for pedestrians' safety
Kolkata: In a bid to prevent risky pedestrian crossovers on the city's highest-speed corridor, the KMDA has started the process of setting up steel barricades on the stretch below Chingrighata and Ambedkar Bridge on EM Bypass following suggestions from the traffic cops.
The authorities will engage an agency to execute the work at an estimated cost of about Rs 23.6 lakh. The agency will need to complete the work within a month from the date of commencement of the project.
"Over 35% of all pedestrian deaths occur because they stray on the roads. Putting up iron fencing will stop jaywalking and significantly cut down accidents," a traffic police officer said.
Traffic police said they had been trying to bring down the number of accidents on stretches below flyovers and bridges. "Footage has shown vehicles straying from one lane to another to overtake one another, especially near faster corridors on Bypass and its connectors," a cop said. Kolkata saw 118 pedestrian victims on the five most dangerous stretches since 2020. Bypass took the top spot, cops said.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Indian Express
34 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Bengaluru gold smuggling case: After ED and CBI probes, Kannada actor Ranya Rao now faces I-T investigation
The Income Tax (I-T) department will investigate the wealth of Kannada actor Ranya Rao, who was arrested in a gold smuggling case, with a special court for economic offences in Bengaluru Monday allowing its application to question her in prison. The special court dismissed the objections raised by Rao's lawyer and permitted the I-T department to question her in prison from 10 am to 5 pm between June 11 and June 13. The assistant director of I-T (Investigations) applied last week seeking court permission to record the statement of Rao, 33, at the Bengaluru Central Prison regarding her earnings from alleged gold smuggling activities. The I-T department argued that the actor, who was arrested on March 3 from the Bengaluru International Airport for smuggling 14.2 kg of gold worth Rs 12.56 crore, was involved in the smuggling activity by using resources generated from 'unexplained sources and cash'. It sought to probe the unexplained sources by recording her statement in prison over a three-day period. B S Girish, the counsel for Rao, argued that the provisions of the Customs Act and the I-T Act are distinct, and so she cannot be compelled to give a statement under the provisions of the I-T Act, which would be contrary to Article 22 of the Constitution. The special public prosecutor of the I-T department, however, argued that I-T authorities are empowered to investigate and that she needs to be probed about the huge cash she allegedly mobilised and circulated for acquiring and selling gold from Dubai. 'The objections of the accused No.1 as to the statement U/s.131(1) of the Act is contrary to Article 22 of the Indian Constitution cannot be accepted as the Act very much permits the recording of statement as a part of investigation, in view of the applicant being vested with powers of a civil court,' the special court ruled Monday. 'The other objections as to the Customs Act and IT Act being distinct enactments in itself will not come in the way to permit the applicant/Department to investigate into the allegations against the accused No.1 on the basis of credible information,' the special court said. Ranya Rao gold smuggling case timeline On May 3, The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) arrested Rao from the airport on her arrival from Dubai with concealed on her body. On March 9, the DRI arrested Telugu actor Tarun Konduru, a US passport holder, after he was identified as an alleged accomplice of Rao in the gold smuggling racket. On March 26, the DRI arrested Sahil Jain, 27, a hawala dealer and associate of Rao, who allegedly received the gold smuggled by the actors and transferred funds through the hawala route to Dubai for the purchase of more gold. The DRI alleged that Jain played a central role in disposing of 49.6 kg of gold worth Rs 40.13 crore, smuggled from Dubai by Rao, between November 2024 and February 2025. It also claimed that Jain transferred Rs 39.39 crore of Rao's earnings to Dubai. Rao is the stepdaughter of the senior Karnataka IPS officer K Ramachandra Rao. She is alleged to have used airport protocol services available to her father to escape customs checks and detection at the Bengaluru airport on arrival from Dubai. The DRI also alleged that Rao and her associates smuggled 100 kg of gold in the 2024-25 period. It said Jain is part of a sophisticated smuggling network operating in India and abroad. A prosecution complaint was filed against him by the agency in a Kolkata court on March 5, 202, in a case involving the smuggling of 41.64 kg of gold. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are also investigating the gold smuggling case from criminal and money laundering angles and have registered cases. The ED recently carried out searches on properties, including offices of an education trust belonging to Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on the grounds that there had been monetary transactions between the trust and Rao. The trust, headquartered in Tumakuru in Karnataka, is alleged to have made a payment of Rs 40 lakh towards her credit card bills. Courts in Bengaluru granted Rao, Konduru, and Jain statutory bail after the DRI failed to file prosecution complaints (chargesheets) against them within 60 days of their arrest. However, the accused trio remain in prison on account of the Union Department of Revenue invoking the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities (COFEPOSA) Act, 1974, against them on April 22. The COFEPOSA Act allows the preventive detention of persons for a period of up to one year. Last month, her mother H P Rohini filed a habeas corpus plea in the Karnataka High Court over the continued detention of her daughter. The matter was, however, adjourned by two weeks on June 3 after the court was informed that the advisory panel for confirming the COFEPOSA detention order of Rao was yet to meet.


Indian Express
35 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Honeymoon murder in Meghalaya: Kangana Ranaut calls Raja Raghuvanshi's wife Sonam ‘dumb', says, ‘how absurd a woman can't say no to…'
The recent murder case of Raja Raghuvanshi while he was on his honeymoon in Meghalaya has caused a storm on the internet. BJP MP-actor Kangana Ranaut has reacted to the Meghalaya Honeymoon murder case on social media, penning a long note. She called Raja's wife Sonam Raghuvanshi 'dumb' and mentioned that the murder is 'cruel, heinous, and cold-blooded'. Taking to her Instagram Stories, she called the incident 'cruel' and wrote, 'How absurd is this!! Woman can't say no to marriage because she is scared of her own parents but she can plan a cold-blooded murder with supari killers. This has been on my mind since morning but not able to wrap my head around it!!! Uuffff getting a headache now!! She couldn't even divorce or run away with her lover.' The actor added, 'How cruel, heinous and above all absurd and dumb. Dumb people should never be taken lightly. They are the biggest threat to any society… We often laugh at them and think they are harmless but it's not true. Intelligent people may damage others for their own good but remember a dumb person has no idea what they are doing !!! Be aware very aware of dumbness around you.' ALSO READ | Meghalaya honeymoon murder: Sonam Raghuvanshi claims she was drugged, say UP Police Check out her Story: Raja and Sonam were reported missing on May 23 while they were on their honeymoon in Meghalaya. However, it turned into a murder investigation after Raja's body was found in a gorge near the Weisawdong waterfalls on June 2, even as Sonam remained missing. The Meghalaya Police suspected that Sonam had allegedly hired killers to kill her husband. Officers from the Madhya Pradesh Police's Crime Branch told The Indian Express that Raj Kushwaha, the 21-year-old who is also suspected of conspiring with Sonam Raghuvanshi to murder her husband Raja in Meghalaya, had planned to kill him just days after the couple got married. According to the police, Sonam surrendered before the Nandganj Police Station in Ghazipur district on Sunday night and was later arrested, while Kushwaha was arrested in Indore. As per PTI, there are four other accused besides Sonam – Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan, Raj Singh Kushwaha, and Anand. All of them were arrested from various parts of Madhya Pradesh. As per Raj's family, Sonam made the plan for honeymoon in Meghalaya and asked him for Rs 9 lakh for the bookings. She also made him carry expensive jewellery there much against the family's wishes. Sonam, meanwhile, maintains that she was kidnapped and drugged.


New Indian Express
42 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
IAS officer Chakma arrested by Vigilance, sent to judicial custody
The IAS officer had visited Bhubaneswar to attend a two-day state-level workshop of revenue officers at Lok Seva Bhawan here on Wednesday and Thursday. After returning, Chakma allegedly asked the businessman to hand him over Rs 10 lakh as the first installment at his government quarters on Sunday evening. Being informed, the Vigilance team carried out a raid at his residence and seized the bribe money from his possession. During searches, the anti-corruption agency's officers seized an additional Rs 47 lakh cash from his quarters. 'A total of Rs 57 lakh cash was seized from him and a thorough investigation is underway to ascertain the source through which he received such huge amount of money,' said Vigilance sources. A native of Tripura's Kanchanpur, Chakma had joined as Dharamgarh sub-collector in January 2024, which was his first posting after clearing IAS. He had earlier cleared allied services as IFS officer, Odisha cadre, and posted as assistant conservator of forests (ACF) at Baripada in Mayurbhanj district in June, 2021. Meanwhile, Kalahandi collector Sachin Pawar said they will look into the allegations against Chakma after receiving a report from the Vigilance.