West Bengal CM and Kolkata Police strike back at CBI and central government

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday hit back following reports in the media that arrest of the Calcutta Police Commissioner was imminent.

“The Kolkata Police Commissioner is among the best in the world. His integrity, bravery and honesty are unquestioned. He is working 24x7, and was on leave for only one day recently. When you spread lies, the lies will always remain lies,” the chief minister tweeted. She also lashed out at the BJP and said, “The highest levels of the BJP leadership are doing the worst kind of political vendetta. Not only are political parties their targets, they are misusing power to take control of the police and destroy all institutions. We condemn this.”

Unnamed CBI officials were quoted in media reports as saying that the Kolkata Police Commissioner had not been cooperating with the agency in its investigation of the Saradha chit fund case. Police Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, believed to enjoy the confidence of the West Bengal chief minister, had been summoned on several occasions for interrogation, these CBI sources claimed, but he had ignored the summons and had failed to turn up.

These reports also claimed that the Kolkata Police Commissioner was absconding and that his arrest was imminent. CBI accuses the senior IPS officer of obstructing justice and helping the accused and the suspects in the ‘Sarada’ case.

Kolkata Police also issued the following statement on Sunday and warned of ‘strict legal action’ against defamatory news. The statement, which was posted on Kolkata Police’s Twitter handle ( link below), stated:

“We have noticed a news item doing the rounds of various audiovisual, print, and digital media since Saturday, 02.02.19, to the effect that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is 'looking for' Shri Rajeev Kumar, Commissioner of Police, Kolkata, in connection with the Saradha chit fund cases. The news item also mentions that Shri Rajeev Kumar has not been attending office for three days.”

“Kolkata Police condemns and denies such baseless news. Please take note that not only is the CP Kolkata available in the city, but has also been attending office on a regular basis, with the exception of 31.1.19, when he was on leave for a day.”

“All concerned may please take note that if any news is spread without proper verification, Kolkata Police will initiate strict legal action against defamation of both the CP Kolkata and Kolkata Police.”

While the CBI can legally arrest the serving police officer after taking sanction from the competent authority, the action is likely to escalate the political tension building up in West Bengal between the chief minister and BJP’s national leaders. Ahead of the general election both the sides have raised the pitch and are engaged in a full scale war of words.

The unprecedented warning issued by Kolkata Police also indicates that any attempt to arrest the police commissioner can face resistance from the police force.