‘Foolproof security arranged for safety of judges & their families’
Kolkata: With senior judicial officers of Diamond Harbour (DH) sub-divisional court in Bengal raising safety and security concerns after a person was reportedly spotted loitering outside their residential quarters on Sunday night, the Diamond Harbour District Police, on Wednesday, said they made foolproof security arrangements to ensure the safety of the judges and their families.
In a letter to the registrar (Inspection-I) of Calcutta High Court, District Judge Subhradip Mitra detailed that the person was seen loitering inside the Judges’ Abasan residential complex, raising security concerns.
Addressing a Press conference, the SP of Diamond Harbour Police District, Rahul Goswami said: “We are taking this case very seriously and have spoken to the district judge as well. The safety and security of judges are of utmost importance given the nature of the work they do. We have increased security near their living quarters to ensure that their families are safe along with them.
After reviewing CCTV footage and talking to the security guards, we have detained a suspect and will be charging him soon. This matter is being investigated further so that we can catch all culprits. Also, a show cause notice has been issued against the police official who was a part of this and has been unlawfully trying to pressurise the judges. Strict action will be taken against him as well.”
He informed that an FIR under the new BNS law was filed based on the findings.
Further, the investigation is being conducted on the basis of this FIR, lodged after a complaint by the judge on September 9 that a miscreant was seen roaming outside the residence of the judges.
“The Inspector-in-Charge (IC) went there immediately and spoke to the security guard and the judges”, police said, adding, “earlier, there were 4 guards but now we have increased that to 9, and were asked to increase it further”.
Further, a police officer was given a show cause notice and asked to respond within 7 days why the department should not take any action against him. “He has been temporarily suspended as well. If he is proven guilty, action will be taken against him,” police said.
“We are investigating why the police officer, against whom the complaint was made, was not on duty during the time of the incident. We have also sent a letter to the electricity department to see if power was cut for the housing complex during that time,” it was claimed.
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress criticised BJP’s IT-Cell head Amit Malviya for allegedly spreading misinformation concerning the matter. TMC wrote on X: “From the initial investigation, it’s clear there was NO TRESPASSING into Judges’ Abasan. Following a high-level meeting between @WBPolice, District Judge & other Judges, a senior Police official confirmed: Security around Judges’ residences is being reinforced FIR registered, investigation moving forward with ZERO LENIENCY Police Officer involved has been laid off and served a show-cause notice Measures are being taken to deploy the Intelligence Bureau if needed So to the HABITUAL LIAR & PURVEYOR OF MISINFORMATION, @amitmalviya, TAKE NOTE. You might actually learn a thing or two about PROACTIVE POLICING!”
