West Bengal polls: EC suspends Kalighat officer-in-charge after post with INSAS rifle in uniform

KOLKATA: Kalighat PS OC Goutam Das, appointed by EC on Apr 25, was suspended on Saturday for his post with a now-deleted photograph of himself in uniform aiming an INSAS assault rifle following protests from the Trinamool Congress. The photo was captioned "ready for new assignment".

Das, a Special Branch inspector, became the Kalighat OC on April 25, four days before the Kolkata polls. The KP is probing, prima facie, complaints that Das violated EC guidelines, the police's internal social media policy and service rules, and also handled the INSAS assault rifle illegally.

Kalighat PS also covers parts of the Bhowanipore assembly constituency.

Trinamool, which had been vocal against Das for his alleged "partisan role", immediately moved the EC and lodged a complaint with police commissioner Ajay Nand after Das uploaded the post on social media.

Trinamool vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar wrote in his complaint that Bengal laws prevent "police officers on duty from taking photographs in their uniform and posting them on social media". Central rules also "prohibit such open exhibition of arms, and that too with a threatening caption", he said. Majumdar added, "Whether such a weapon was allotted to him or whether he is trained to use such a sophisticated weapon is also questionable". He also alleged, "The social media post is not only dangerous but also highly controversial, as it is perceived as a direct threat to the general public."

A senior KP officer said inspectors posted in police stations as OCs or additional OCs are not issued INSAS rifles. They can inspect the PS armoury where these firearms are kept, but Das was photographed with one in the OC's chamber in full uniform, which is illegal, the officer added.

The senior officer also said Das, a 2008 batch officer, has a habit of making questionable social media posts. Even after deleting the "ready for next assignment" post, he made and deleted two more posts; in one, he even referred to beating with a stick. Earlier, screenshots of a "Sindoor 2.5 in Bengal" post had also been shared by several pro-Trinamool social media handles. Das has since taken down all posts. Queries to Das and KP commissioner went unanswered.

Commissioner Nand, in an email to senior officers on Saturday after the issue surfaced, only said Chameli Mukherjee, OC of Ultadanga women's PS, has been appointed as the new Kalighat OC.

This is not the first instance this election season in which KP personnel have been suspended for making political statements in uniform on social mediaor trying to influence voters.

On Apr 28, constable Ramkrishna Kayal, a member of 1st Battalion of Kolkata Armed Police, was suspended after a video on Facebook, in which he reportedly criticised the Trinamool government.

On April 18, Kolkata Police constable Sk Masud Karim of Reserve Force was suspended for allegedly influencing voters.


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