Two former Indian Police Service (IPS) officers who once led Kolkata's police force have entered politics on opposing sides, marking a crossover from law enforcement to lawmaking in West Bengal.
In the run-up to this year’s assembly elections, Rajesh Kumar, who was appointed Kolkata Police commissioner by the Election Commission in 2019 ahead of the national election, has been named the BJP’s candidate for the Jagaddal constituency in North 24 Parganas.
Rajesh, a retired IPS officer, later served as head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and as director-general of Traffic and Road Safety. He was the 41st commissioner of Kolkata Police.
However, he is not the first police chief to take the political plunge.
Rajeev Kumar, a former Kolkata Police commissioner who was removed from the post by the Election Commission ahead of the 2016 state election, was recently elected to the Rajya Sabha on a TMC ticket.
Notably, Rajeev served as West Bengal’s director-general of police from July 2024 until his retirement on Jan. 31, 2026.
He has held several senior roles, including Kolkata Police commissioner, deputy commissioner (central), joint commissioner of the special task force (STF) and additional director-general of police (CID). He was the first joint commissioner of the STF when it was set up in 2008.
The TMC member was also in the spotlight during a 2019 CBI raid at his residence in connection with the Saradha chit fund probe and was later questioned by the agency for about 40 hours in Meghalaya.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier described him as “the best police officer in the world.”
Interestingly, Rajesh is said to share a close friendship with Rajeev, with both officers reportedly retiring on the same day.