In a dramatic development, police commissioner of Siliguri commissionerate Anand Kumar has been transferred on Friday for mishandling Trinamul Congress-CPI(M) clashes and their fallout.
K. Jayaraman (anti-corruption branch) was made the new police commissioner while Mr Kumar was transferred to the less-important post of DIG (training). This is the same post to which Kolkata police’s joint commissioner (crime) Damyanti Sen was transferred when she had dared to contradict chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s claim that Park Street rape case was a fabricated incident. Two months ago, Ms Sen was made DIG of Darjeeling.
The Leader of the Opposition, Surjya Kanta Mishra who was in Siliguri on Friday said that he wished there was a system to transfer ministers in the state. He was apparently taking a dig at the North Bengal development minister Gautam Deb. The CPI(M) has alleged that the Siliguri police had implicated over 50 of its leaders and workers in false cases at Mr Deb’s behest.
On April 9 after the news of attack on state finance minister Amit Mitra reached the state, Trinamul Congress workers took out protest rallies. In Siliguri they did the same.
However, CPI(M) had already taken out a rally to demand judicial probe into SFI leader Sudipto Gupta’s death. Passions were running high and workers of rival parties came to blows. The police had a tough time dispersing the warring groups.
On April 10, the Trinamul Congress workers led by Mr Deb took out another protest rally which passed through the Hill Cart Road. The CPI(M) party office Anil Biswas Bhavan is also located on the road. Nearly 57 party leaders and workers, including former minister Ashok Bhattacharya, and CPI(M) Darjeeling secretary Jibesh Sarkar were present in the office. They were arrested.
While Mr Bhattacharya and five women were released, nearly 50 others were sent to judicial custody. All of them barring one Babu Lama were released on Thursday although the police had slapped non-bailable charges against them.
Mr Bhattacharya said that Mr Kumar was punished because defying orders from political bosses, he had refused to persecute and harass CPI(M) workers.