KOLKATA: The Election Commission on Saturday suspended four senior Kolkata police officers, including a DCP, and ordered disciplinary proceedings against them for their failure to maintain law and order during a roadshow by Union home minister Amit Shah in Bhowanipore on April 2. In the past fortnight since the model code of conduct (MCC) came into effect in Bengal, the poll panel has suspended 17 officials, including five cops, two BDOs and 10 CAPF personnel.The suspensions of Siddartha Dutta (DCP-II, South Division), Priyankar Chakraborty (OC, Alipore), Chandi Charan Banerjee (additional OC, Alipore) and Saurabh Chatterjee (sergeant, Alipore) were made on the recommendation of Bengal CEO Manoj Agarwal. “The commission has agreed to the proposal and directs that the aforementioned police officers be suspended and disciplinary proceedings be initiated against them immediately,” the EC said.
On Thursday, during Shah’s roadshow culminating in BJP’s Suvendu Adhkari filing nomination from Bhowanipore, the atmosphere had turned tense near Kalighat, close to CM Mamata Banerjee’s residence, where Trinamool workers assembled in large numbers and raised counter-slogans. Cops prevented a full-blown confrontation and formed human barricades to keep the two sides apart. The fracas resulted in EC filing an FIR at Alipore police station alleging MCC violations and claiming that while BJP had obtained permission for its rally, Trinamool Congress had not.Ironically, suspended police officer Priyankar Chakraborty had been appointed Alipore OC by the EC on March 29, the day the poll panel changed 31 Kolkata Police OCs, including that of Bhowanipore police station.Among Bengal govt officers suspended earlier by EC are Basanti police station inspector-in-charge Avijit Paul for failing to prevent poll violence, Hanskhali BDO Sayantan Bhattacharyya for violence during poll training and Khandogosh joint BDO for alleged political canvassing. Additionally, ten central force personnel have been suspended — three in Suri for playing carom in a Trinamool party office and seven for attending an Iftar at the home of a Trinamool functionary in Murshidabad.BJP, meanwhile, has twice approached the EC seeking the transfer of DCP Shantanu Sinha Biswas and demanded the removal of two other officers — Bijitaswa Routh and Rahul Amin Ali Shah — for allegedly canvassing for Trinamool Congress during the state conference of West Bengal Police Welfare Committee.Trinamool, too, has twice approached the poll panel seeking the transfer of Bhowanipore election returning officer Surajit Roy, who the party alleges has a close association with Suvendu Adhikari, having previously served as BDO of Nandigram-II. The party has alleged his appointment is “out or turn” and inconsistent with his seniority and claimed that while EC sought a panel of three names to pick Roy’s replacement and the state govt promptly complied, Roy remains returning officer of Bhowanipore.On Saturday evening, the Kolkata Police commissioner replaced Hare Street OC Rajib Sahoo with Thakurpukur OC Lopsang Tshering Bhutia. Sahoo will take up charge in Thakurpukur. The move comes in the wake of disturbance outside the CEO office at Strand road on April 1.
