Kolkata, April 4 – The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday directed the suspension of four Kolkata Police officers, including a deputy commissioner-level officer, in connection with the tension near the convoy of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and West Bengal Assembly Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on April 1.
The convoy was approaching the Alipore Survey Building in South Kolkata, where Adhikari was scheduled to file his nomination for the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency.
The four police officers whose suspensions have been directed by the ECI are Deputy Commissioner-II (South) Siddhartha Dutta, officer-in-charge of Alipore Police Station Priyankar Chakraborty, Additional officer-in-charge Chandi Charan Banerjee, and Sergeant of Alipore Saurabh Chatterjee.
ECI Secretary Sujeet Kumar Mishra sent a communication to West Bengal Chief Secretary Dushyant Nariala on Saturday, requesting the suspension of the four police officers and the initiation of departmental disciplinary proceedings against them.
"The Commission's directive must be implemented immediately, and a compliance report in this regard is to be submitted by 11:00 a.m. on April 5, 2023. Furthermore, you are requested to urgently submit a proposal to the Commission for filling the resulting vacant post," the communication read.
Earlier on Friday, the Kolkata Police had issued show-cause notices to both Siddhartha Dutta and Deputy Commissioner-II (Reserve Force) Manas Roy in this connection.
At a recent virtual meeting with the top bureaucrats and police officers of West Bengal earlier this week, newly-appointed Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nand faced the ire of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar in the matter.
Nand was also questioned by the CEC on why the police were not proactive in preventing the tension.
Based on three separate police complaints filed at two police stations in South Kolkata, the police registered two separate First Information Reports (FIRs) in the matter.