Bengal
Surinder Koli, the prime accused in the infamous 2006 Nithari serial killings who was acquitted by the Supreme Court in 2025, was found dead in Haridwar on September 18. The incident followed a national seminar in Visakhapatnam where senior jurists and media professionals scrutinized investigative lapses by the CBI and questioned the lack of media follow-up for the victims’ families.
In a startling turn of events, Surinder Koli, the prime accused in the 2006 Nithari serial killings who was acquitted by the Supreme Court in 2025, was found dead inside his Haridwar tea stall on September 18. The incident closely follows a national seminar in Visakhapatnam where senior jurists and experts scrutinized the press and the CBI over systemic investigative failures that denied justice to victim families.
The Election Commission of India has frozen the Trinamool Congress name and ‘Flowers & Grass’ symbol for the October 6 bypolls, assigning separate interim designations to factions led by Mamata Banerjee and Arup Roy. Amid an urgent Supreme Court challenge by the party supremo, an emerging Congress-Mamata alignment has prompted the resignation of Trinamool’s Nandigram nominee.
In a decisive crackdown on the unrest following the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, state police have arrested 433 individuals and registered 200 FIRs across various districts since results were announced on May 4. Acting Director General of Police (DGP) Siddh Nath Gupta confirmed on Wednesday, May 6, that these actions were taken to curb reports of intimidation, assault, and arson that erupted shortly after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was declared the winner. In addition to the specific arrests, over 1,100 people have been placed under preventive detention to restore law and order.
A close aide of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari was shot dead in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district late on Wednesday night, triggering fresh political tensions in the state. The deceased, identified as Chandranath Rath, was reportedly attacked by motorcycle-borne assailants near Madhyamgram while travelling in an SUV. According to eyewitnesses, the attackers opened fire at close range before fleeing the scene.
In the wake of the 2026 Assembly election results, security arrangements outside key residences and offices linked to the Trinamool Congress leadership have been significantly eased across West Bengal. The move follows the party’s electoral defeat, marking a visible shift in administrative priorities and political authority.
West Bengal Advocate General Kishore Datta tendered his resignation to Governor R.N. Ravi on Tuesday morning, May 5, 2026, following the Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) historic defeat in the 2026 Assembly elections.
Mamata Banerjee has stunned the political world by refusing to resign after the 2026 Bengal elections. Despite the BJP winning a two-thirds majority and Banerjee losing her own seat, she has alleged massive EVM tampering and a conspiracy by the Election Commission, vowing to fight on from a national stage.
The political map of India was redrawn on May 4, 2026, as Assembly election results across five regions delivered a series of historic upsets. In West Bengal, the BJP scripted a monumental victory, securing 207 seats to unseat Mamata Banerjee, who lost her own seat in Bhabanipur. Tamil Nadu witnessed a “cinema-to-citizens” earthquake as actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) emerged as the single-largest party with 108 seats, defeating incumbent CM M.K. Stalin in his stronghold of Kolathur. Meanwhile, Kerala stayed true to its “pendulum” tradition as the Congress-led UDF swept to power with 102 seats, ending a decade of Left rule. In Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma secured a record third term for the NDA with a three-fourths majority, winning 102 of 126 seats.
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