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News Desk: There is a message behind West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s appointment of Bengali Soumen Mitra as Commissioner of Police in Kolkata. She tried to point out that there’s a lot going on in the atmosphere of this Bengali-non-Bengali vote.
First, a Bengali IPS officer after many years as the Commissioner of Police in Kolkata. According to sources, Soumen was briefly the Commissioner of Police in Kolkata five years ago. But that is only temporary. In that sense, Gautam Mohan Chakraborty was the last Bengali IPS officer in the post of Commissioner of Police in Calcutta. Just before him was Prasoon Mukherjee. His predecessors were Sujoy Kumar Chakraborty, Tushar Talukder, Biren Saha and others. Apart from this, the rest of the time the posts of Commissioner of Police in Kolkata have been held mainly by non-Bengali officers. Rajiv Kumar was the commissioner before the outgoing police commissioner Anuj. In that sense, several years later, a Bengali officer took over the security of the city of Calcutta. Incidentally, Soumen is an alumnus of Presidency College and Jawaharlal Nehru University. He is also an accomplished student. An expatriate film director was delighted to be appointed as the Commissioner of Police in Kolkata and wrote a huge post on Facebook. If that is an indicator, then the ‘elite’ Bengalis are happy with Soumen’s appointment.
Second, five years ago, Soumen was appointed as the Commissioner of Police in Kolkata by the Central Election Commission. In other words, he was the ‘representative’ of the commission to ensure fair and free voting. The state government had nothing to do with his appointment. This time before the vote, Chief Minister Mamata herself brought him to that post. According to a section of the administration, Mamata has thus proved that she has practiced ‘monarchy’. Everyone in the police administration knows that during the election five years ago, Soumen’s relationship with the Chief Minister and Home Minister (Police) Mamata was not so ‘smooth’. Because, he was the representative of the commission. In fact, after Mamata, the Trinamool won a landslide victory in the seemingly difficult 2016 elections, Mamata brought Rajiv back to the post of Kolkata Police Commissioner. And Soumen had to spend some time in a ‘compulsory wait’. In administrative terms it is called ‘compulsory waiting’. That is, even if the concerned administrative officer is employed, he will not have any post or job. However, a few days later, Soumen was brought back to a post in the state police.
However, no one but the highest level of administration had any idea that he would be appointed as the Commissioner of Calcutta Police. But the chief minister’s “trusted” administrative officials say Soumen’s decision to become Kolkata’s police commissioner is “deliberate and long-term”. By appointing a Bengali officer to the highest post in the police force in Calcutta, the Chief Minister wanted to convey that, firstly, she did not believe in ‘vengeful behavior’ in any way. Rather, she believes in observing ‘Raj dharma’. She will hand over the reins to the one who is skilled and professional in that work. Second, she is handing over the burden of fair, bloodless and free voting in the city of Calcutta to a Bengali. Which also carries a ‘political message’. Because, the ruling Trinamool is now dealing with the opposition BJP with ‘Bengali-non-Bengali’ weapons. Leaders of the ruling camp have repeatedly said that the BJP is trying to take over the state by bringing in non-Bengali foreigners from outside Bengal. In fact, Kailash Vijayvargiya, the BJP’s central observer, has been mocked with the phrase ‘Borgi Elo Deshe’. In that atmosphere, the suspicion of placing a Bengali in the highest post of the Calcutta Police definitely carries a message.
Publicly, however, none of the administrative officials are reluctant to admit it. According to them, Soumen has been made the Commissioner of Police in Kolkata as a skilled and senior officer. It has nothing to do with a ‘political message’. In the words of one of the leaders of Nabanno, “Soumen is a very skilled and professional officer. In his hands, the city of Kolkata is expected to be safe before and during the polls. That is why he has been brought to the post of police commissioner. If anyone is looking for a political connection with this, it will be difficult. “
