None allowed to take law into their own hands: Rajiv Kumar

Kolkata: Senior IPS officer Rajeev Kumar after taking charge of Director General (DG) of the state police on Tuesday while addressing a press conference at Nabanna emphasised that nobody is above the law and none would be allowed to take the “law in their hands”.

He also urged for peaceful festival celebrations to ensure that no one faces any inconvenience.

Kumar, on Tuesday, took over the charge of the state police DG and informed that they have made adequate arrangements for the ongoing festive season.

While addressing the media along with Additional Director General (ADG), Law and Order, Manoj Kumar Verma, he said: “We appeal to everyone to celebrate religious festivals in a manner that does not cause inconvenience to others. We have made adequate arrangements on our end, and if anyone faces any issues, please contact us. Our core philosophy is to celebrate religious festivals together harmoniously.” Meanwhile, Kumar while replying to a question about whether there was any intelligence failure in the backdrop of multiple recent incidents, said: “Will the incident that had happened in the USA be called an intelligence failure? Things will happen. How we are facing the incidents is more important. Law and order depend on how we react. There is no man-created system which is 100 per cent correct.”

Kumar, a 1989-batch IPS was removed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in March, soon after the announcement of Lok Sabha elections.

The poll panel had appointed Sanjay Mukherjee, an IPS of the same batch as the state DG. Mukherjee on Monday was transferred as DG in the state Fire and Emergency Services department.

Meanwhile, apart from the state police, Kolkata Police also has made adequate arrangements for the Muharram festival.

According to sources, within the Kolkata police jurisdiction, about 230 small and 20 large processions will come out on the streets.

For these processions, about 200 police pickets have been set up.

Several Deputy Commissioners (DC) along with Assistant Commissioners (AC) will be on the road to supervise the arrangements.