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Court restrained the CBI from taking any shielding Kolkata police chief Rajeev the Centre. Sources said that the Bengal
coercive action against Kumar. While Kumar as he probably possesses evi- Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi sent his
Mamata Banerjee may have reason to dence that could prove damning for report on the Mamata versus CBI stand-
believe that the timing of the CBI’s op- the ruling Trinamool Congress Party. off to the Centre. Then followed a notice
eration was politically motivated, State In the current scenario when tensions from the Union Home Ministry to West
police detaining the CBI officials was were mounting high, it was bound to be Bengal Government. Union Home Min-
shocking and illegal. In attempting to ob- interpreted as a high-handed attempt to istry has issued a notice asking the Ben-
struct the CBI action in a Supreme Court- encroach upon the federal spirit of the gal government to take action against
monitored investigation, the West Bengal constitution. DGP Virendra of the 1985 IPS batch, ADG
Chief Minister has once again demon- The apex court has done its job by put- Vineet Kumar Vital of the 1994 IPS batch,
strated that she is better suited to sit on ting the inquiry back on track, but allega- ADG (Law and Order) Anuj Sharma of the
dharnas than a chief minister. A chief tions and counter-allegations continue 1991 IPS batch, Bidhan Nagar Commis-
minister resorting to holding a dharna to fly thick and fast. The new CBI Direc- sioner Gyanwant Singh of the 1993 IPS
in aid of an officer who is required for tor, Rishi Kumar Shukla, has taken charge batch, additional commissioner Supra-
tim Sarkar of the 1997 IPS batch.
The Centre is also considering initiat-
ing further action against these officers,
including withdrawing medals and hon-
ours conferred on them under the All
India Services (Conduct) Rules. Sources
say the Rajnath Singh-led Home Minis-
try may also bar these errant officers for
a certain period from serving in the cen-
tral government.
The MHA letter dated February 5,
2019, mentioned that as per information
received by the MHA, Rajeev Kumar sat
on a dharna along with some police offic-
ers with the chief minister, at the Metro
Channel in Kolkata. The behaviour is
prima facie in contravention of the pro-
visions of AIS (Conduct) Rules, 1968/AIS
(Discipline & Appeal) Rules, 1969.
Not to be cowed down, chief minister,
Mamata Banerjee retorted that “I will
give these five senior officials the high-
est state honour, if the Centre takes away
their medals. Also, I will send a strongly-
worded letter, if they send me one,” she
said. Banerjee also described the Centre’s
questioning does her no credit or to the • Policing row Kolkata’s top cop is in tight spot plan as a part of “campaign” before polls,
august office of the chief minister of a and said the Centre cannot take action
state. Similarly, trying to overawe a sen- against them. “This is about campaigning.
ior police officer’s residence on a Sunday at a time when the agency’s reputation is Police officers are under the state gov-
evening with a large team of officers too in shambles. He faces the Herculean task ernment. They have no moral authority
does not seem the right course of action of restoring its credibility in the public to say all this. They cannot take any action
for the CBI. Mamata has accused that the eye and ensuring that the CBI functions against my police officers. Law and order
CBI was being misused against the op- without any pressure, even as the pow- lie with the state government. With all
ponents and she has asked the premier er tussle on the national stage is set to this, it is clear that the Supreme Court has
investigating agency to conduct its probe intensify in the next couple of months. brought in a temporary truce between
into the theft of Rabindranath Tagore’s The impending elections are sure to the Centre and the State Government,
Nobel medal with the same urgency intensify the heat. but confrontation continues on the eve
with which it had tried to corner Police However, the Supreme Court directive of general elections.
Commissioner without valid documents. may bring only a temporary truce be-
The BJP, in turn, alleged that Mamata was tween the West Bengal Government and letters@tehelka.com

Tehelka / 28 february 2019 48 www.Tehelka.com