Kolkata: A five-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe serious cases of allegations of murders, sexual assault on women and rape during the violence that took place soon after the results of the West Bengal Assembly. The election was announced on May 2.
A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal also constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe other cases related to the post-poll violence across the state. The investigation will be supervised by the court.
Both the agencies have been asked to submit their reports in six weeks.
In its order, the High Court has made three IPS officers serving in Bengal as members of the SIT. They are Suman Bala Sahu, Soumen Mitra and Ranveer Kumar.
The cases they are going to investigate include cases of grievous hurt or incapacity, arson, vandalism, damage to property, intimidation and criminal intimidation.
A retired Supreme Court judge will oversee the work of the SIT, for which a separate order will be passed later, the court said.
The SIT will be headed by Sahu, the senior-most of the three, who is a Director General of Police-level officer. Mitra, an officer of the rank of Additional Director General, is currently the Commissioner of Kolkata Police. Kumar is also an ADG rank officer.
As per the court order, the SIT is to investigate 388 FIRs for grievous hurt or incapacity, 609 for arson, sabotage and robbery, and 130 for intimidation – a large part of them against the ruling Trinamool Congress. Is.
Here is a detailed look at the three officers who have been entrusted with this massive investigation:
Suman Bala Sahu
The 1987-batch IPS officer is DGP, Telecom, and is currently the only woman IPS officer in West Bengal to hold such a rank.
Formerly the Joint Director of the Kolkata unit of CBI from 2010 to 2015, Sahu has had a long stint in the investigating agencies, and his career has been undisputed.
Before joining CBI, Sahu was Deputy Commissioner in the Detective Department of Kolkata Police and also served as Special Superintendent in CID.
According to reports, when he took over the central deputation in 2010, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had called him back after winning the state elections for the first time in 2011. However, Sahu returned to her home cadre only after completing her five-year stint in the CBI.
Thereafter he was posted as ADG, Kalyan, and later promoted as DG, Kalyan.
soumen friend
Mitra was recently appointed as the Kolkata Police Commissioner for the second time in his career. Prior to this, Mitra was ADG, Training from May 2016 to February 2021.
Mitra had also worked as DC, Detective Department, Kolkata Police and IG, CID for many years.
During the 2016 assembly elections, the Election Commission of India removed the then Kolkata Police chief Rajeev Kumar, who had been accused of corruption and political motivation against him, and posted Mitra in his place.
However, he was removed from the post in the same year after Mamata Banerjee returned to power and reinstated Rajiv Kumar.
In February 2021, Banerjee re-nominated Mitra as the commissioner. He was also among three IPS officers who were awarded the Chief Minister’s Police Medal for outstanding service on August 15 this year.
Ranveer Kumar
Kumar, a 1990 batch IPS officer, is now ADG, Administration, Directorate of West Bengal Police.
He has previously served as the Inspector General of Police, North Bengal; ADG-Prisons, and ADG, Armed Police.
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