Ahead of the May 21 repoll in the Falta constituency in the South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari held his first administrative meeting at Diamond Harbour on Saturday.
Diamond Harbour is considered a Trinamool Congress (TMC) stronghold, with the party supremo Mamata Banerjee’s nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, being the MP from this constituency. Adhikari was greeted by a huge crowd in the area.
The meeting was held along with Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Agarwal, other bureaucrats, and senior police officials. "There was lawlessness—now rules will be followed in accordance with the law,” said Suvendu Adhikari.
Adhikari made several points, including the fact that no cut money or money collection was to be taken from autorickshaw drivers or hawkers, or else they could approach the police to complain.
Adhikari also said that cut money/bribes taken to avail the West Bengal government’s welfare schemes should stop and arrests could be made with electronic evidence, or an FIR be filed and investigated.
Victims of political violence can approach the police with medical proof or file fresh FIRs. Doctors will look into medical proof, and the same goes for atrocities against women, where they or their guardians can file FIRs.
Also, people can approach the police in earlier cases in which the police had detained the accused for days without any conclusion.
The CM also spoke about women police officers and constables not being transferred to far-off places, unless there was an exception.
Adhikari said that anyone inciting violence against the police will not be accepted, and if there is damage to public property, the cost will be borne by those involved.
Adhikari also said that the Home Secretary will seek suggestions from retired senior police officials on maintaining efficient law and order in the state.
This also comes after a 27-year-old man named Hasnain Iqbal was arrested on Friday from the Garden Reach area by a Special Task Force (STF) of the Kolkata Police for sending an email threatening the police with a suicide bomb attack on Adhikari with the help of the terrorist organisation, Al Qaeda.
Adhikari reiterated that the police were investigating the matter.