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Bengal chief secretary asks union home secretary to withdraw summon notice

State govt is taking the issue of attack on Nadda's convoy seriously: Bandyopadhyay

bjp car windshield One of the cars in the J.P. Nadda convoy that was damaged | Twitter handle of BJP MP Raju Bista

West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay has written to union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla to withdraw the summons notice issued to him in the wake of the mob attack on BJP chief J.P. Nadda's convoy that took place on Thursday.

Bandyopadhyay, the director general of police and the state home secretary had been issued a summons by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday morning.

Bandyopadhyay wrote, “While further reports have been obtained and compiled, in the circumstances, I am directed to request you to kindly dispense with the presence of the state officials in the meeting [in your chamber], considering that the state government is already [taking] the issue (on the attack of BJP president’s convoy) with utmost seriousness.”

Questions now remain over who "directed" the chief secretary to write his request to Bhalla. Bandyopadhyay only reports to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Nadda is a Z-category security protectee, whose convoy was attacked on December 10 when he was travelling to South 24 Parganas to attend a party meeting. At Diamond Harbour, TMC supporters stormed the police protection and began pelting stone, bricks and glass materials. The cars of Dilip Ghosh, Mukul Roy and Kailash Vijayvargaha were destroyed within minutes.

The Bengal chief secretary today admitted that the inquiry has begun at the insistence of the home secretary who sent a letter yesterday to the chief secretary asking for an impartial inquiry.

“As requested by you vide your no VI23014/394/2015/VS dated December 10, 2020, the incident regarding certain Z-category protectees is already being examined at our end,” said the chief secretary.

Apart from Nadda, Ghosh—the state BJP president—also enjoys Z-category security cover.

The chief secretary said that, based on the intimation of the home secretary, the state has provided a bullet-proof car to Nadda for travelling in and around the state.

“That was in addition to escort (vehicle by state, personnel by CRPF ) and PSOs (principal staff officers, CRPF) were present. The DIG police of the range was stationed in the area to personally supervise the police arrangement. Additional SPs, 8 DSPs, 14 inspectors, 70 Sis/ASIs, 40 RAF (Rapid Action Force) personnel, 259 constables and 350 members of auxiliary forces were deployed on the route and at the venue of Diamond Harbour. While central protectees had their own central protection arrangements, these arrangements were made over and above the same from the end of the state,” said the chief secretary in his letter.

He said tagging of many vehicles to the protectee convoy, however, made the situation “unwieldy”. 

“Because typical security authorities are to handle protectee convoy of a few vehicles only and not with the other vehicles which were tagged,” said the chief secretary—i.e., saying that the presence of many other leaders apart from Nadda and Ghosh made the situation worse for the security force to handle.

Alapan Banerjee said seven persons have already been arrested and that the state is leaving no stone unturned to investigate the case.

BJP has reacted strongly to this argument of chief secretary.

“It is a lame excuse. That means that no other leaders should accompany our party president. Shame on the administration which has been politicised,” said Mukul Roy, BJP national vice president.

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