Saturday saw the second vote in West Bengal get going, and Goutam Das, the chief of Kalighat police station, was suspended for a picture of a gun that went around on the internet. This is focusing more attention on law and order during the important last part of the election. The TMC filed a complaint and the new voting was happening in 15 locations in South 24 Parganas at the same time.
Immediate suspension after viral firearm post
Goutam Das had only just been put in charge of Kalighat police station in Kolkata before the state assembly elections, because of changes to who is in charge where. He put a photo on Facebook of himself with a gun, and one version said “ready for new assignment.” The picture quickly spread on social media.
The Election Commission suspended him after the TMC complained. Kolkata Police said they were looking into the post. This incident has led to even closer inspection of the police in areas where politics are very active, especially when the election is causing a lot of tension.Das used to be an inspector in the special branch and was moved to Kalighat before the election to make things more open. He had replaced Utpal Ghosh about a month ago. Now, this situation is drawing more attention to how the police are behaving in the last days of the voting.
New officer takes charge at Kalighat
Chameli Mukherjee, the officer in charge of Ultadanga police station in the east of the city, is now the head of Kalighat. This change is happening just a few days before the votes from the assembly elections are counted.
This change in personnel shows that they are trying to be neutral and have the public’s trust. Kalighat is a difficult area because Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal and leader of the TMC, lives there.
Repolling under tighter security in South 24 Parganas
On Saturday, people are revoting at 15 places in South 24 Parganas. Eleven of these are in Magrahat Paschim, and four are in Diamond Harbour, according to reports the election organization has received from people working at the voting places.
The Election Commission ordered the revote because the people in charge of the returning votes and observers found problems during the second vote on April 29th. These included claims that the voting machines had been tampered with, party symbols were covered on the machines, and at some places there weren’t enough people watching over the voting. The previous vote in these places is now cancelled, and security has been increased.
Complaint by TMC and rules cited
The TMC went to the Election Commission after Jayprakash Majumdar, the TMC’s vice-president for the state, put a picture on X of the officer in uniform holding a gun. Majumdar said the picture had the words “ready for new responsibility” and called the post wrong and unacceptable.
In his complaint, Majumdar alleged the post violated social media rules and posed pointed questions about the firearm. His key assertions included:
– The caption appeared threatening in tone
– Posting in uniform breaches police social media rules
– Central directives prohibit provocative images
– Was the firearm officially issued and authorised
– Such posts may intimidate the general public
He asked for strong action to be taken and for a formal investigation into how the post happened. The Election Commission then said the officer was suspended and a new one had been appointed to Kalighat.
What this means ahead of counting
The suspension, announced two days before the votes are counted, is part of the Election Commission’s bigger effort to make sure things are under control in sensitive areas. It makes it clear that they will not accept anything that could be seen as stirring up trouble during the election.
With the revote happening with more security, the most important thing now is to finish the process without any more issues. The new officer at Kalighat is there to make the local police more stable as the state gets ready for the final count.
