EC transfers five top cops

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">KOLKATA/ASANSOL: The Election Commission on Tuesday ordered the transfer of five officers-in-charge, including that of Lake police station in Kolkata, and relieved them of all election-related duties.<br /><br />Coming close on the heels of the transfer of five other police officers, including three IPS officers, the order has rattled the top brass.<br /><br />Apart from Lake OC Satyajit Banerjee (whose area falls in Kolkata South constituency, where Trinamul chief Mamata Banerjee is seeking re-election), the transfer order names three OCs of Burdwan, a red bastion — Hridaypur’s Gour Gopal Mukherjee, Andal’s Sailaja Singh and Pandaveswar’s Saikat Roy.Nadia’s Chapra OC Sagar Saha has also been transferred.<br /><br />State chief electoral officer Basudeb Bandyopadhyay said the reasons for the transfer were not mentioned in the order.<br /><br />However, the transfer of the Lake OC came as no surprise to some of his colleagues.<br /><br />Satyajit Banerjee is accused of falsely implicating four youths in the abduction of businessman Sarad Nangia on January 19, 1999.<br /><br />Banerjee was then OC of Karaya police station. The state human rights commission on December 13, 2000, had even sought criminal proceedings against Banerjee.<br /><br />Probing the case following a complaint by the father of one of the accused, the HRC found Banerjee’s conduct in “gross violation of human rights�. “He (Banerjee) tortured the four youths and forced them to drink urine in police custody. His action is a blot on the police force,� the HRC report said, recommending his immediate removal for the “barbaric act�.<br /><br />The then commissioner of police D.C. Vajpai shunted Banerjee to Special Branch, but his successor Sujay Chakraborty brought him back to Lake police station and even recommended him for an Indian Police Medal. However, the EC apparently does not see him fit for election duties.<br /><br />“The EC has done a commendable job by taking action against three OCs in Asansol,� Trinamul candidate Maloy Ghatak said. “Gour Mukherjee and Sailaja Singh have served as OCs in Hirapur and Andal earlier where they promoted widespread rigging. They were brought back to these police stations a month ago. Saikat Roy openly boasts of himself as a left loyalist.�<br /><br /><formid=367815></formid=367815></div> </div>