Kolkata, April 6 – Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the West Bengal Assembly, has accused the Kolkata Police of deploying undercover officers to shadow him during his ongoing campaign for the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency in South Kolkata, where he is contesting against the Trinamool Congress candidate and Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee.
The LoP has sent an email communication to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), where he has also named three police personnel, including an inspector-level officer, who are allegedly involved in the task of shadowing him, following instructions from the ruling Trinamool Congress.
According to him, this entire shadowing exercise is being supervised by Inspector Nirupam Dutta, who is the additional officer-in-charge (OC) of the Kalighat Police Station. The two undercover officers, as claimed by Adhikari, who are directly involved in the shadowing exercise, are Biswajit Mondal, an assistant sub-inspector at the Kalighat Police Station, and Farikh Bakshi, a watchman constable of the Special Branch of the Kolkata Police.
According to him, during his door-to-door campaigns in Bhabanipur, the undercover officers shadowing him were noting the address and identity of every voter who met him, so that they could be intimidated later.
"This is state-sponsored voter intimidation and a major obstruction in free and fair elections. The TMC should understand that such tactics will no longer work. The days of their high-handedness and autocracy are over. The voters of Bhabanipur, just like the voters across West Bengal, will give a befitting reply to the Trinamool Congress," the LoP claimed.
In his communication to the CEC, Adhikari has requested the latter’s intervention in immediately putting all such officers involved in the shadowing exercise on immediate notice.
Adhikari is contesting simultaneously from Bhabanipur and his native Nandigram Assembly constituency in East Midnapore district, where he has been a two-time MLA, first from 2016 to 2021 for the Trinamool Congress and then for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from 2021 to date.
While Nandigram will go for polls on April 23, polling will be conducted at Bhabanipur on April 29. The results will be declared on May 4.
