Kolkata, April 6 Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the West Bengal Assembly, has accused the Kolkata Police of deputing covert cops to shadow him during his ongoing campaign for the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency in South Kolkata, where he is pitted against Trinamool Congress candidate and Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee.
The LoP has sent an email communiqué to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), where he has also named three police personnel, including an inspector ranking officer, who are allegedly involved in the task of shadowing him following instructions from the ruling Trinamool Congress.
According to him, this entire shadowing exercise is being supervised by Inspector Nirupam Dutta, who is the additional officer-in-charge (OC) of Kalighat Police Station. The two covert cops, as claimed by Adhikari, who are directly involved in the shadowing exercise, are Kalighat Police Station's assistant sub-inspector Biswajit Mondal, and watch constable of the Special Branch of Kolkata Police, Farikh Bakshi.
According to him, during his course of door-to-door campaigns at Bhabanipur, the covert cops shadowing him were noting every voter’s address and identity who met him, so that they could be intimidated later.
“This is state-sponsored voter intimidation and a major obstruction in free and fair elections. TMC should understand that such tactics won't work anymore. The days of their high-handedness and autocracy are over. The voters of Bhabanipur, just like the voters across West Bengal, will give a befitting reply to Trinamool Congress,” the LoP claimed.
In his communiqué to the CEC, Adhikari has requested the latter’s intervention in immediately putting all such officers involved in the shadowing exercise on immediate notice.
Adhikari is contesting simultaneously from Bhabanipur and his native Nandigram Assembly constituency in East Midnapore district, where he has been a two-time MLA, first from 2016 to 2021 for Trinamool Congress and then for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from 2021 to date.
While Nandigram is going for polls on April 23, polling will be conducted at Bhabanipur on April 29. The results will be declared on May 4.
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