Buddha removes Dinhata cops

In A bid to appease sentiments of the Left Front’s prominent partner, the Forward Bloc, the West Bengal Government on Friday removed two officers of Cooch Behar...

In A bid to appease sentiments of the Left Front’s prominent partner, the Forward Bloc, the West Bengal Government on Friday removed two officers of Cooch Behar —fixing some responsibility on them for the incident on February 5, when local officers opened fire on a group of protesting Bloc supporters, killing six persons.

The two police officers—DSP (Crime) Meghlal Sarkar and Inspector in-charge of Dinhata Sudhangshu Roy—were present when Bloc supporters started protesting outside the SDO office against the state’s inability to implement the job guarantee scheme.

IG (Law and Order) Raj Kanojia confirmed the removal of the officers, adding there were still no specific charges against them. Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Roy said the officers were removed in order to pre-empt any bad blood that might develop between the local population and the police. The relationship between the Forward Bloc and the CPI(M) has been strained of late. Sources in the Chief Minister’s Office said Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee took the decision immediately after returning from Delhi on Thursday. “He does not want any tension with his allies,” an official said.

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However, many in the Home Department believe top officials like the District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police should have been hauled up for failing to assess the situation. When contacted, Sarkar said, “I was there to supervise police arrangements. I did not fire a single round. Some constables opened fire on the SDO’s instruction. Whenever such incidents occur, juniors always end up taking the blame.”

Meanwhile, the Cooch Behar DM and SP have sent separate versions to the Government on who ordered the firing. The police maintain SDO Debabrata Chakraborty authorised it, a claim which is being contested by the SDO. The DM has, therefore, written the police was forced to open fire in order to control the angry mob. The CID is now trying to ascertain who gave the order to fire. CID officers said, “Three constable of the combat force have admitted to firing. We shall talk to them to find out more.”