Kolkata, May 25: The Kolkata Police has begun the process of reintegrating personnel who were transferred in 2016 due to their alleged impartial conduct during the assembly elections. These officers were moved to different districts under punitive transfers by the then Mamata Banerjee government for strictly adhering to the Election Commission’s guidelines and ignoring verbal directives from leaders of the ruling party.
An insider from the Kolkata Police revealed that a total of 82 junior-level officers were transferred in 2016, and none have been brought back to the Kolkata Police in the past ten years. At that time, Rajeev Kumar, a former IPS officer and current Rajya Sabha MP from the Trinamool Congress, was the police commissioner of Kolkata.
According to a source, when the Bhangar division was incorporated into the Kolkata Police jurisdiction in January 2024, the then police commissioner, currently suspended IPS officer Vineet Kumar Goyal, attempted to reintegrate those 82 officers to meet the increased manpower needs following the formation of the new division. However, his proposal did not receive approval from higher authorities.
Now, the current police commissioner, Ajay Nand, has formally restarted the process to bring back these 82 officers. He has also written to the state’s Home Department requesting permission to reinstate these personnel under the Kolkata Police.
Additionally, he has requested the state police to transfer some officers to the Kolkata Police to temporarily address the shortage until new recruits are appointed. This proposal is currently awaiting approval from the Home Department.
At present, there are 673 vacancies for sub-inspectors within the Kolkata Police. A source stated, “Whether at the police station level or across various units, sub-inspectors form the backbone of the investigation process. Therefore, a shortage at this level often hampers smooth operations.”
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