Adhikari Gives Police Free Hand To Tackle Crimes Against Women, Drug Smuggling In Bengal

(MENAFN- IANS) Kolkata, Nov 7 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday said he had given the police a free hand to deal with crimes against women and narcotics smuggling in the state, warning that political interference in these matters would not be tolerated.

At the same time, Adhikari, who also holds the police portfolio, issued a stern warning against attacks on police personnel and vandalism of police stations and outposts, saying those involved would face prolonged imprisonment.

“I have given the police a free hand in tackling two issues. The first is crime against women and the second is narcotics smuggling. I will not tolerate any kind of political interference in these two issues. At the same time, as the police minister of the state, I will not tolerate any incident of attack on a cop or ransacking of any police station or police outpost. Those attacking police personnel will have to spend years behind bars,” Adhikari said.

He also warned that those responsible for vandalising police establishments would have to pay for the damage, along with interest.

“We will recover damages, along with interest, in case of ransacking of police stations or police outposts from those responsible,” the Chief Minister said while distributing appointment letters to newly recruited police sub-inspectors at Lalbazar, the Kolkata Police headquarters in central Kolkata.

Adhikari advised the newly appointed officers to maintain strict discipline in their daily duties and follow the instructions and orders of their superiors.

Highlighting the challenges faced by the police force, he said West Bengal's vast geographical diversity, large population and varied linguistic and cultural backgrounds made policing particularly demanding.

“There are 11 crore people in West Bengal. On one side are mountains, on the other side are jungles, and on the other are several isolated islands. The police's responsibility is to ensure that public life remains normal. Till now, they did not get any facilities. The police did not have financial security. Now the police will be provided with financial security,” he said.

The Chief Minister said the state government would focus on modernising the police force and improving the quality of its training. An MoU had been signed with a police training centre in Assam for this purpose, while steps would also be taken to strengthen coordination between the state police and the Central forces.

Claiming that police recruitment had remained neglected during the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government, Adhikari said the new administration had already recruited 11,000 personnel into the state police force.

He acknowledged that 46,000 posts were still vacant and said the government would fill them in phases.

The recruitment drive would include 6,345 women police personnel and 4,000 constables, he said, adding that further appointments would be made over the coming months.

“Recruitment in the police will be done again in December-January,” Adhikari said, indicating that the government planned to accelerate the process to strengthen the state's policing infrastructure.

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