Kolkata Police has summoned two Trinamool Congress councillors from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation for questioning regarding the recent protests outside the Chief Electoral Officer’s office in central Kolkata. The councillors, Santi Ranjan Kundu from Ward 32 and Sachin Kumar Singh from Ward 36, both in North Kolkata, have been asked to appear at Hare Street Police Station, which oversees the CEO’s office area.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar instructed Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nand to address the law and order disturbances caused by ruling party activists protesting outside the CEO’s office. Nand was reprimanded for not promptly handling the situation and dispersing the demonstrators.
In a related incident, Kolkata Police issued show-cause notices to two deputy commissioner-rank officers following tensions near Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s convoy and Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on April 1. The officers, Siddhartha Dutta and Manas Roy, were served notices in connection with the incident near the Alipore Survey Building in south Kolkata.
The Chief Election Commissioner expressed dissatisfaction with the police’s lack of proactive measures to prevent such tensions and disruptions. Subsequently, two FIRs were filed based on complaints from south Kolkata police stations. The upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with results announced on May 4.
