Mamata raps section of police, bureaucrats for casual work
Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday pulled up the district administration and police top brass of Cooch Behar district on learning about some persons identifying themselves as Delhi Police visiting residences of some migrant labourers in the district from North Bengal Development minister Udayan Guha.
Guha pointed out at the administrative review meeting chaired by Banerjee that some people claiming themselves to be Delhi Police officials have gone to residences of some migrant labourers and have been harassing them. He further pointed out that after the visit, members of a political party are visiting these houses and have been intimidating them of dire consequences if they refuse allegiance to that party. Questioning the role of the District Magistrate and the Police Superintendent, Banerjee said: “Why are you allowing Delhi Police to act in such a manner? They have not contacted us. If there is any verification, it should be our job and not theirs.” She asked Director General of Police (DGP) Rajeev Kumar whether he is aware of such action. When he claimed ignorance, Banerjee said: “If police from any other state come here, they should inform the state police and that too in crime matters. But why should they verify? You should not allow this.”
She wanted to know from Kumar about the role of district intelligence branch (DIB) in this case. As Kumar informed him that the SP himself is in-charge of IB, Banerjee said that the concerned SP does not deserve his position. “The police should work with dignity and not under any pressure. If he is not aware of rules properly, he should not be given charge of an SP,” she added. The role of the district magistrate of Birbhum and some ICs of police stations in the district like Suri, Dubrajpur, Muhammad Bazar also came under the Chief Minister’s ire. Banerjee expressed her displeasure over proper execution of the coal block project at Deocha Pachami and sand smuggling in the district. She warned of action against irregularities if things are not rectified in seven days.
Ministers Pradip Majumdar who is also Banerjee’s advisor in Agriculture and state Agricultural Marketing minister Becharam Manna were pulled up for releasing potatoes from cold storages without her permission. Transport minister Snehasis Chakraborty came in the Chief Minister’s firing line for shortage of bus services for office goers.
