KOLKATA: Kolkata Police has suspended the officer-in-charge (OC) of the Kalighat Police Station in Kolkata, Gautam Das, by replacing him with Chameli Mukhopadhyay, OC of Ultadanga Women Police Station in the city.
This decision was taken after Das posted a photograph of himself with an automatic rifle with the caption ‘ready for new assignment’ on Facebook while wearing the Kolkata Police uniform.
In the wake of Das posting the photo, the Trinamool Congress state vice-president Jayprakash Majumdar, who shared the image on X and filed a complained to the EC and urged the poll body to remove him. This is the third time the OC of Kalighat Police Station has been transferred after the poll schedule for Bengal was declared in March.
“This picture is not only uncomfortable, but it is quite objectionable from a legal standpoint. In this picture, it is clear that he is targeting someone by showing a sophisticated gun," Majumdar said.
“No police officer on duty can post his picture on social media while wearing a uniform. It is mentioned in the guidelines regarding the use of social media by the Kolkata Police. Besides, as per the instructions of the Government of India, it is prohibited to post any type of caption or picture on social media that is threatening or provocative. How come the OC of Kalighat Police Station posted this ‘controversial’ picture?," he added.
Raising serious concerns, Majumdar questioned, “Was this firearm officially issued to him? Is he trained to use such a weapon?” He also alleged that such posts could be seen as intimidation and demanded an impartial probe into the matter.
Das, who previously served in the Kolkata Police Special Branch, has seen his tenure cut short. The EC had first changed the OC of Kalighat Police Station on March 29. Utpal Ghosh of the Intelligence Division of the Kolkata Police was brought in as the OC of the Kalighat police station. Within a month, just before the polling in the second phase of the Assembly elections in the state, Ghosh was transferred, and he was replaced by Gautam Das.
