The Evening Wrap: At least 22 arrested in connection with Birbhum killings

At least 22 people have been arrested so far in connection with violence in West Bengal’s Birbhum district that claimed eight lives, a senior police officer said on March 23. Family members of Bhadu Sheikh, the TMC Panchayat leader whose killing on March 21 is suspected to have sparked off the attack with petrol bombs on some 10 houses in Bogtui village on the outskirts of Rampurhat town, claimed that Sheikh’s sons were among those arrested. However, the police as yet have not released any names of suspects who have been arrested. All eight of them, including two children, were charred to death as nearly a dozen houses were set ablaze with petrol bombs in Bogtui village in the early hours of Tuesday. Eleven people were arrested the same day for their involvement in the incident. “We are grilling them [those arrested] to find out if there were more people involved in the incident. Some accused seem to have fled the village. We are trying to trace them,” the officer said. He added that forensic experts were examining the ravaged houses to get an idea about the “nature of the mishap”. The West Bengal government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Additional Director General (CID) Gyanwant Singh, to probe the incident. The Union Home Ministry has sought a detailed report on the incident from the State Government. Meanwhile, the Left Front (LF) on Wednesday took out a rally in Rampurhat town of West Bengal’s Birbhum district, demanding justice for those killed in violence in the area the day before. LF chairman Biman Bose, who led the rally along with CPI(M) State secretary Mohd. Salim, said any attempt to hush up the “mass murder” would be resisted. Bose slammed the police for “not doing anything” to rescue the villagers. Speaking to reporters after visiting the site of the incident, Salim alleged that illegal sand mining mafia played a role in the attacks. He demanded stern punishment for the perpetrators. “We want strictest punishment for those involved in the barbaric attack,” he said. In a related development, the Calcutta High Court on March 23 directed the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Delhi to immediately collect necessary materials for forensic examination at Bogtui village in Bengal’s Birbhum district. The court asked the State Government to file a report in the case before it by 2 p.m. on March 24, when the matter will be taken up for hearing again. A Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava, taking up a suo motu petition and a set of PILs, ordered that CCTVs be installed at the crime scene in the presence of District Judge, Purba Bardhaman, and recordings be done until further orders. It asked the DGP to ensure safety of witnesses, including that of a minor boy injured in the arson, in consultation with the District Judge, Purba Bardhaman. The court observed that suo motu petition has been registered for fair investigation in the case. The petitioners in the PILs have prayed for a probe by the CBI or by any other agency which is not controlled by the State. Advocate-General representing the Government opposed the prayer, stating an SIT was probing the matter and that there was no need to transfer the case to any other agency. COVID-19: MHA to end all containment measures from March 31 In view of the continuous dip in coronavirus cases, the Home Ministry has decided to end all COVID-19 containment measures from March 31, two years after their implementation following the outbreak of the pandemic. However, wearing of face mask and maintaining social distancing norms will continue as earlier. The Central Government had on March 24, 2020 issued for the first time orders and guidelines under the Disaster Management Act, (DM Act) 2005 for the containment of COVID-19 in the country and these have been modified on various occasions. In a communication to the Chief Secretaries of all States, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said that over the last 24 months, significant capacities have been developed for various aspects of management of the pandemic, such as diagnostics, surveillance, contact tracing, treatment, vaccination, hospital infrastructure. Also, the general public now has much higher level of awareness on the COVID-appropriate behaviour, he said. The States and Union Territories have also developed their own capacities and systems and implemented their detailed specific plans for managing the pandemic, he said, adding over the last seven weeks or so there has been a steep decline in the number of cases. The total caseload in the country stands at 23,913 only (on March 22) and the daily positivity rate has declined to 0.28%, he said. It is also worth mentioning that with the combined efforts, a total of 181.56 crore vaccine doses have been administered, he said. “After taking into consideration the overall improvement in the situation and preparedness of the Government to deal with the pandemic, National Disaster Management Authority has taken a decision that there may not be any further need to invoke the provisions of the DM Act for COVID containment measures,” the communication said. Accordingly, Bhalla said, after the expiry of the existing order on March 31, no further order will be issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). However, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare advisories on Covid containment measures, including on the use of face mask and hand hygiene, will continue to guide the overall national response to the pandemic, he said. The Home Secretary, however, said that in view of the nature of the disease, people still need to remain watchful of the situation. He said whenever any surge in the number of cases is observed, States and UTs may consider taking prompt and proactive action at local level, as advised by the Ministry of Health from time to time. “I would, therefore, advise all the States and UTs to consider appropriately discontinuing issue of orders and guidelines under the DM Act, 2005 for COVID containment measures,” Bhalla said. The States and UTs may continue to follow the Standard Operating Measures and advisories that have been or are being issued by the Ministry of Health from time to time for containment measures, vaccination and other related aspects, he said. In 11th hour decision, Taliban brings back ban on girls education In a surprise decision the hardline leadership of Afghanistan’s new rulers decided against opening educational institutions to girls beyond Grade 6, a Taliban official said on March 23 on the first day of Afghanistan’s new school year. The latest setback for girls education is certain to receive widespread condemnation from the international community that has been urging the Taliban leaders to open schools and give women their right to public space. The unexpected decision came late on March 22 as Afghanistan’s Education Ministry prepared for the new year opening of school, which was expected to herald the return of girls to school. A statement by the Ministry earlier in the week urged “all students” to come to school. However the decision to postpone a return of girls going to school in higher levels appeared to be a concession to the rural and deeply tribal backbone of the hardline Taliban movement, that in many parts of the countryside are reluctant to send their daughters to school. Girls have been banned from school beyond Grade 6 in most of the country since the Taliban returned to power in mid-August. Universities opened up earlier this year in much of the country, but since taking power the Taliban edicts have been erratic and while a handful of Provinces continued to provide education to all, most provinces closed educational institutions for girls and women. In the capital Kabul private schools and universities have operated uninterrupted. The religiously-driven Taliban administration fears going forward with enrolling girls beyond Grade 6 could erode their base, said Waheedullah Hashmi, external relations and donor representative with the Taliban-led administration. “The leadership hasn’t decided when or how they will allow girls to return to school,” Hashmi said. While he accepted that urban centres are mostly supportive of girls education, much of rural Afghanistan is opposed, particularly in tribal Pashtun regions. In some rural areas a brother will disown a brother in the city if he finds out that he is letting his daughters go to school,” said Hashimi, who said the Taliban leadership is trying to decide how to open education for girls beyond Grade 6 countrywide. Most Taliban are ethnic Pashtuns. In their sweep through the country last year, other ethnics groups such as Uzbeks and Tajiks in the north of the country either joined the fight to give the Taliban their victory or simply chose not to fight. “We did everything the Taliban asked in terms of Islamic dress and they promised that girls could go to school and now they have broken their promise,” said Mariam Naheebi, a local journalist who spoke to the Associated Press in the Afghan capital. Naheebi has protested for women’s rights and says “they have not been honest with us”. Ukraine says ‘confrontational’ Russia talks moving forward as West plans more sanctions Talks between Ukraine and Russia are confrontational but moving forward, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday, as the West plans to announce more sanctions against the Kremlin amid a worsening humanitarian crisis, Reuters reported. Intense Russian air strikes are turning besieged Mariupol into the “ashes of a dead land”, the city council said on Tuesday, as street fighting and bombardments raged in the port city. Hundreds of thousands are believed to be trapped inside buildings, with no access to food, water, power or heat. Both civilians and Ukrainian troops were coming under Russian fire, said regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko. Russian forces and Russian-backed separatist units had taken about half of the port city, normally home to around 400,000 people, Russia’s RIA news agency said, citing a separatist leader. But in an early morning address, Zelenskyy held out hope for negotiations, which have yielded little since the February 24 invasion began. “It’s very difficult, sometimes confrontational,” he said. “But step by step we are moving forward.” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s incursion into Ukraine has forced more than 3.5 million to flee, brought the unprecedented isolation of Russia’s economy, and raised fears of wider conflict in the West unthought-of for decades. Mariupol has become the focus of the war that erupted when Putin sent his troops over the border on what he calls a “special military operation” to demilitarise Ukraine and replace its pro-Western leadership. The port city lies on the Sea of Azov and its capture would allow Russia to link areas in the east held by pro-Russian separatists with the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014. Alongside European leaders, U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to announce new sanctions against Russia and new measures to tighten existing ones when he visits Brussels this week. The United States is preparing sanctions on more than 300 members of Russia’s lower house of parliament as soon as Thursday, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited unnamed officials and internal documents. “No final decisions have been made about who we will sanction and how many we will sanction,” said a White House spokesperson. “We will have additional sanctions measures to announce that will be rolled out in conjunction with our allies on Thursday when the President has the opportunity to speak with them.” Biden’s Europe trip is also set to include an announcement on joint action to enhance energy security on the continent, which is highly reliant on Russian gas, and a visit to Poland to show solidarity with Ukraine’s neighbour. The United States and its Western allies are also assessing whether Russia should remain within the Group of Twenty (G20) major economies, sources told Reuters. Having failed to seize the capital Kyiv or any other major city with a swift offensive, Russia is waging a war of attrition that has reduced some urban areas to rubble and prompted Western concern that the conflict could escalate, even to a nuclear war. Russia’s security policy dictates that the country would only use such weapons if its very existence were threatened, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN. “If it is an existential threat for our country, then it (the nuclear arsenal) can be used in accordance with our concept,” he said. Earlier he said “no one” had ever thought the operation in Ukraine would take just a couple of days and the campaign was going to plan, TASS news agency reported. Western officials said Russian forces were stalled around Kyiv but making some progress in the south and east. Ukrainian fighters are repelling Russian troops in some places but cannot roll them back, they said. Russia’s combat power in Ukraine has declined below 90% of its pre-invasion levels, a senior U.S. defence official said on Tuesday, without providing evidence. If confirmed, it would suggest heavy losses of weaponry and growing casualties. The United Nations human rights office in Geneva said on Tuesday it had recorded 953 civilian deaths and 1,557 injured since the invasion. The Kremlin denies targeting civilians. Millions have fled abroad, according to the United Nations, leaving Eastern Europe scrambling to provide them with care, schools and jobs. The United States plans to launch an effort this week to make it easier for some to enter after only a handful of refugees were admitted in the first two weeks of March, according to three people familiar with the matter. Follow our live coverage here. In brief Pushkar Singh Dhami was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand at Dehradun’s Parade Ground on March 23, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Amit Shah, among others. The BJP’s decision to retain Dhami as Uttarakhand CM came despite the fact that he lost his seat of Khatima, while the BJP won a majority in the Assembly election. Since the Uttarakhand Assembly does not have an Upper House or Legislative Council, Dhami will now have to be elected to the Assembly in a bye-election within six months. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow [logo] The Evening Wrap 23 MARCH 2022 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Birbhum killings: Number of arrests rises to 22; Left Front holds rally at Rampurhat    [At least 22 people have been arrested]( so far in connection with violence in West Bengal’s Birbhum district that [claimed eight lives]( a senior police officer said on March 23. Family members of Bhadu Sheikh, the TMC Panchayat leader whose killing on March 21 is suspected to have sparked off the attack with petrol bombs on some 10 houses in Bogtui village on the outskirts of Rampurhat town, claimed that Sheikh’s sons were among those arrested. However, the police as yet have not released any names of suspects who have been arrested. All eight of them, including two children, were charred to death as nearly a dozen houses were set ablaze with petrol bombs in Bogtui village in the early hours of Tuesday. Eleven people were arrested the same day for their involvement in the incident. “We are grilling them [those arrested] to find out if there were more people involved in the incident. Some accused seem to have fled the village. We are trying to trace them,” the officer said. He added that forensic experts were examining the ravaged houses to get an idea about the “nature of the mishap”. The West Bengal government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Additional Director General (CID) Gyanwant Singh, to probe the incident. The Union Home Ministry has sought a detailed report on the incident from the State Government. Meanwhile, the Left Front (LF) on Wednesday took out a rally in Rampurhat town of West Bengal’s Birbhum district, demanding justice for those killed in violence in the area the day before. LF chairman Biman Bose, who led the rally along with CPI(M) State secretary Mohd. Salim, said any attempt to hush up the “mass murder” would be resisted. Bose slammed the police for “not doing anything” to rescue the villagers. [Senior CPI(M) leader Biman Bose visits the area where houses were set on fire after the death of a Trinamool Congress leader, at Rampurhat in West Bengal’s Birbhum district on March 23, 2022. ] Speaking to reporters after visiting the site of the incident, Salim alleged that illegal sand mining mafia played a role in the attacks. He demanded stern punishment for the perpetrators. “We want strictest punishment for those involved in the barbaric attack,” he said. In a related development, the Calcutta High Court on March 23 directed the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Delhi to immediately collect necessary materials for forensic examination at Bogtui village in Bengal’s Birbhum district. The court asked the State Government to file a report in the case before it by 2 p.m. on March 24, when the matter will be taken up for hearing again. A Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava, taking up a suo motu petition and a set of PILs, ordered that CCTVs be installed at the crime scene in the presence of District Judge, Purba Bardhaman, and recordings be done until further orders. It asked the DGP to ensure safety of witnesses, including that of a minor boy injured in the arson, in consultation with the District Judge, Purba Bardhaman. The court observed that suo motu petition has been registered for fair investigation in the case. The petitioners in the PILs have prayed for a probe by the CBI or by any other agency which is not controlled by the State. Advocate-General representing the Government opposed the prayer, stating an SIT was probing the matter and that there was no need to transfer the case to any other agency. COVID-19: MHA to end all containment measures from March 31 In view of the continuous dip in coronavirus cases, the [Home Ministry has decided to end all COVID-19 containment measures from March 31]( two years after their implementation following the outbreak of the pandemic. However, wearing of face mask and maintaining social distancing norms will continue as earlier. The Central Government had on March 24, 2020 issued for the first time orders and guidelines under the Disaster Management Act, (DM Act) 2005 for the containment of COVID-19 in the country and these have been modified on various occasions. In a communication to the Chief Secretaries of all States, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said that over the last 24 months, significant capacities have been developed for various aspects of management of the pandemic, such as diagnostics, surveillance, contact tracing, treatment, vaccination, hospital infrastructure. Also, the general public now has much higher level of awareness on the COVID-appropriate behaviour, he said. The States and Union Territories have also developed their own capacities and systems and implemented their detailed specific plans for managing the pandemic, he said, adding over the last seven weeks or so there has been a steep decline in the number of cases. The total caseload in the country stands at 23,913 only (on March 22) and the daily positivity rate has declined to 0.28%, he said. It is also worth mentioning that with the combined efforts, a total of 181.56 crore vaccine doses have been administered, he said. “After taking into consideration the overall improvement in the situation and preparedness of the Government to deal with the pandemic, National Disaster Management Authority has taken a decision that there may not be any further need to invoke the provisions of the DM Act for COVID containment measures,” the communication said. Accordingly, Bhalla said, after the expiry of the existing order on March 31, no further order will be issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). However, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare advisories on Covid containment measures, including on the use of face mask and hand hygiene, will continue to guide the overall national response to the pandemic, he said. The Home Secretary, however, said that in view of the nature of the disease, people still need to remain watchful of the situation. He said whenever any surge in the number of cases is observed, States and UTs may consider taking prompt and proactive action at local level, as advised by the Ministry of Health from time to time. “I would, therefore, advise all the States and UTs to consider appropriately discontinuing issue of orders and guidelines under the DM Act, 2005 for COVID containment measures,” Bhalla said. The States and UTs may continue to follow the Standard Operating Measures and advisories that have been or are being issued by the Ministry of Health from time to time for containment measures, vaccination and other related aspects, he said. In 11th hour decision, Taliban brings back ban on girls education  In a surprise decision the hardline leadership of [Afghanistan’s new rulers decided against opening educational institutions to girls]( beyond Grade 6, a Taliban official said on March 23 on the first day of Afghanistan’s new school year. The latest setback for girls education is certain to receive widespread condemnation from the international community that has been urging the Taliban leaders to open schools and give women their right to public space. The unexpected decision came late on March 22 as Afghanistan’s Education Ministry prepared for the new year opening of school, which was expected to herald the return of girls to school. A statement by the Ministry earlier in the week urged “all students” to come to school. [Girls arrive at their school in Kabul on March 23, 2022. The reopening of secondary schools for girls across Afghanistan on March 23 prompted joy and apprehension among the tens of thousands of students deprived of an education since the Taliban’s return to power. ] However the decision to postpone a return of girls going to school in higher levels appeared to be a concession to the rural and deeply tribal backbone of the hardline Taliban movement, that in many parts of the countryside are reluctant to send their daughters to school. Girls have been banned from school beyond Grade 6 in most of the country since the Taliban returned to power in mid-August. Universities opened up earlier this year in much of the country, but since taking power the Taliban edicts have been erratic and while a handful of Provinces continued to provide education to all, most provinces closed educational institutions for girls and women. In the capital Kabul private schools and universities have operated uninterrupted. The religiously-driven Taliban administration fears going forward with enrolling girls beyond Grade 6 could erode their base, said Waheedullah Hashmi, external relations and donor representative with the Taliban-led administration. “The leadership hasn’t decided when or how they will allow girls to return to school,” Hashmi said. While he accepted that urban centres are mostly supportive of girls education, much of rural Afghanistan is opposed, particularly in tribal Pashtun regions. In some rural areas a brother will disown a brother in the city if he finds out that he is letting his daughters go to school,” said Hashimi, who said the Taliban leadership is trying to decide how to open education for girls beyond Grade 6 countrywide. Most Taliban are ethnic Pashtuns. In their sweep through the country last year, other ethnics groups such as Uzbeks and Tajiks in the north of the country either joined the fight to give the Taliban their victory or simply chose not to fight. “We did everything the Taliban asked in terms of Islamic dress and they promised that girls could go to school and now they have broken their promise,” said Mariam Naheebi, a local journalist who spoke to the Associated Press in the Afghan capital. Naheebi has protested for women’s rights and says “they have not been honest with us”. Ukraine says ‘confrontational’ Russia talks moving forward as West plans more sanctions Talks between Ukraine and Russia are confrontational but moving forward, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday, as the West plans to announce more sanctions against the Kremlin amid a worsening humanitarian crisis, Reuters reported. Intense Russian air strikes are turning besieged Mariupol into the “ashes of a dead land”, the city council said on Tuesday, as street fighting and bombardments raged in the port city. Hundreds of thousands are believed to be trapped inside buildings, with no access to food, water, power or heat. Both civilians and Ukrainian troops were coming under Russian fire, said regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko. Russian forces and Russian-backed separatist units had taken about half of the port city, normally home to around 400,000 people, Russia’s RIA news agency said, citing a separatist leader. But in an early morning address, Zelenskyy held out hope for negotiations, which have yielded little since the February 24 invasion began. “It’s very difficult, sometimes confrontational,” he said. “But step by step we are moving forward.” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s incursion into Ukraine has forced more than 3.5 million to flee, brought the unprecedented isolation of Russia’s economy, and raised fears of wider conflict in the West unthought-of for decades. Mariupol has become the focus of the war that erupted when Putin sent his troops over the border on what he calls a “special military operation” to demilitarise Ukraine and replace its pro-Western leadership. The port city lies on the Sea of Azov and its capture would allow Russia to link areas in the east held by pro-Russian separatists with the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014. Alongside European leaders, U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to announce new sanctions against Russia and new measures to tighten existing ones when he visits Brussels this week. The United States is preparing sanctions on more than 300 members of Russia’s lower house of parliament as soon as Thursday, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited unnamed officials and internal documents. “No final decisions have been made about who we will sanction and how many we will sanction,” said a White House spokesperson. “We will have additional sanctions measures to announce that will be rolled out in conjunction with our allies on Thursday when the President has the opportunity to speak with them.” Biden’s Europe trip is also set to include an announcement on joint action to enhance energy security on the continent, which is highly reliant on Russian gas, and a visit to Poland to show solidarity with Ukraine’s neighbour. The United States and its Western allies are also assessing whether Russia should remain within the Group of Twenty (G20) major economies, sources told Reuters. Having failed to seize the capital Kyiv or any other major city with a swift offensive, Russia is waging a war of attrition that has reduced some urban areas to rubble and prompted Western concern that the conflict could escalate, even to a nuclear war. Russia’s security policy dictates that the country would only use such weapons if its very existence were threatened, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN. “If it is an existential threat for our country, then it (the nuclear arsenal) can be used in accordance with our concept,” he said. Earlier he said “no one” had ever thought the operation in Ukraine would take just a couple of days and the campaign was going to plan, TASS news agency reported. Western officials said Russian forces were stalled around Kyiv but making some progress in the south and east. Ukrainian fighters are repelling Russian troops in some places but cannot roll them back, they said. Russia’s combat power in Ukraine has declined below 90% of its pre-invasion levels, a senior U.S. defence official said on Tuesday, without providing evidence. If confirmed, it would suggest heavy losses of weaponry and growing casualties. The United Nations human rights office in Geneva said on Tuesday it had recorded 953 civilian deaths and 1,557 injured since the invasion. The Kremlin denies targeting civilians. Millions have fled abroad, according to the United Nations, leaving Eastern Europe scrambling to provide them with care, schools and jobs. The United States plans to launch an effort this week to make it easier for some to enter after only a handful of refugees were admitted in the first two weeks of March, according to three people familiar with the matter. [Follow our live coverage here.]( In brief [Pushkar Singh Dhami was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand]( at Dehradun’s Parade Ground on March 23, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Amit Shah, among others. The BJP’s decision to retain Dhami as Uttarakhand CM came despite the fact that he lost his seat of Khatima, while the BJP won a majority in the Assembly election. Since the Uttarakhand Assembly does not have an Upper House or Legislative Council, Dhami will now have to be elected to the Assembly in a bye-election within six months. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow  Today‘s Top Picks [[Sonia Gandhi leads Opposition to force adjournment in Lok Sabha over fuel price hike  ] Sonia Gandhi leads Opposition to force adjournment in Lok Sabha over fuel price hike Â]( [[Abel prize for 2022 goes to American mathematician Dennis P. Sullivan] Abel prize for 2022 goes to American mathematician Dennis P. 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