As West Bengal braces for the second phase of the Assembly elections, a political controversy is brewing in the state over the Election Commission’s appointment of Uttar Pradesh cadre IPS officer Ajay Pal Sharma as the police observer for the sensitive South 24 Parganas region.
A video is doing rounds showing Sharma reprimanding the supporters of Jahangir Khan, a senior TMC leader and a close aide of Abhishek Banerjee. Following allegations that Khan and his supporters were intimidating the public, Sharma arrived at the venue with security forces. He was then caught on camera warning Khan’s supporters that any disturbance would not be tolerated and that strict action would be taken against those responsible. This video of him is rapidly going viral on social media. "There are allegations of threats against Jahangir's people. Tell him we are taking all the information. There will be no use crying later," he was heard saying on camera.
Reports quoting local sources added that when Sharma and the forces reached the area searching for Khan’s residence, many residents initially refused to give the address of Khan's house, indicating an atmosphere of fear. Later, his team searched and found the house.
Soon, TMC MP Mahua Moitra joined the controversy by posting a video showing the officer dancing with unidentified women. The video shows women dancing to a catchy Hindi song, with young men, and Mahua claimed that the young man seen with the dancers in Sharma. "Fair and Lovely Babua - It's good to see you having fun in Fanta Cop style. Stay cool, cool, cool, Bengal is always Trinamool. I hope your police skills are better than your dancing skills," she added.
Trinamool candidate and outgoing minister Chandrima Bhattacharya joined in: "I don't know what his intention is with this dance. The dances police do here as observers will not work. This is the land of Bengal."
The video cannot be independently verified.