KOLKATA: With a change in power in West Bengal after the BJP secured an overwhelming victory in the Assembly elections, Kolkata Police (KP) on Wednesday withdrew security arrangements outside ‘Shantiniketan’, the residence of Trinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, on Harish Mukherjee Road in south Kolkata.
A police outpost equipped with KP vehicles had been set up outside the building, restricting the movement of common people and public transport in the area. More than 10 personnel, led by a senior officer, were deployed around the clock until Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Lalbazar, the KP headquarters, withdrew the additional security cover that Abhishek Banerjee had enjoyed since 2014, when he was elected MP from Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district.
Police also removed two scanners installed at the entrance of the ‘Shantiniketan’ building. Visitors and their belongings, including mobile phones and other electronic items, were earlier subject to security checks through these scanners. Sources said the devices had been installed using state government funds.
Additional police arrangements were also withdrawn on Tuesday from the entry lane connecting Mamata Banerjee’s residence at 30 Harish Chatterjee Street in the Kalighat area. Guardrails have been removed from the spot.
With the rollback of heightened security outside the residences of both Mamata and Abhishek, locals expressed relief. Some residents alleged that traffic restrictions near ‘Shantiniketan’ had caused inconvenience for years. A section of neighbours on Harish Chatterjee Street also welcomed the removal of barricades
Meanwhile, two key advisors to the former chief minister stepped down, signalling administrative changes following the BJP’s decisive victory.
Former chief secretaries Alapan Bandyopadhyay and H K Dwivedi resigned as chief advisors to Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday, an official said.
Economist Abhirup Sarkar also stepped down as chairman of the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) and the West Bengal Small Industries Development Corporation (WBSIDC), the official added.
Bandyopadhyay had been at the centre of a 2021 standoff between the state and the Centre over a transfer order, following which he was appointed chief advisor to the chief minister after retirement.
Earlier, the state’s Advocate General Kishore Dutta had also submitted his resignation to Governor R N Ravi.