-The Telegraph Mathurapur (West Midnapore): Voters of a tiny hamlet in the heart of Jungle Mahal cast aside the fear of Maoists and exercised their franchise today for the first time in seven years. Since 2006, not a single resident of Mathurapur, about 8km from Lalgarh, has voted in any election - Assembly, panchayat or the Lok Sabha - for fear of "retribution" from the Maoists. Mathurapur was then known as the "home...

-The Telegraph Kolkata: Sebi has barred Alchemist Infra Realty Ltd from continuing its collective investment scheme and ordered that investors, several of whom are said to be in Bengal, be refunded within three months. The capital market watchdog's order said the company had denied it had anything to do with Alchemist Group, which is run by the family of K.D. Singh, a Rajya Sabha member from the Trinamul Congress. Some party leaders...

-The Telegraph A village awaits doomsday By Jaideep Hardikar, Penguin, Rs 299 Why is the year, 2011, important? It is important for some states like West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, for it marked a change of government. But it is important, nationally, for the reason that 2011 was a census year. The data for Census 2011 has come, recently, into the public domain - which shows that our farmer population is shrinking....

-The Hindustan Times The meltdown of the Saradha Group and subsequent focus on the state's multiple ponzi scams are hitting Bengal's film industry where it hurts the most - right in the pocket. The release of Asharey Gappo, a film funded by Angel Cinevision & Media - a deposit-taking company (popularly known as a ponzi fund) - has now been postponed indefinitely, even though the funding company does not have any apparent...

-The Indian Express Kolkata: When the Saradha Group's Bengali daily Sakalbela began publication, Mamata Banerjee sent her best wishes. It was more than a customary greeting. It was an impassioned message that seemed to have come from the chief minister's heart. "We will have to pass the dark night to begin our journey in the light of dawn," she said. "An alert conscience, right direction, truth and fearless news is what people...