Truck owners whose vehicles were allegedly smashed by police in New Alipore early on Wednesday met senior officers at the New Alipore police station on Thursday and demanded compensation.
The truckers had on Wednesday alleged that the police had broken their windshields and deflated their tyres after being denied bribes. Four sub-inspectors were suspended later in the day.
Owners of over 33 trucks met the officer in charge of New Alipore police station and submitted a list of items that needed repair in the aftermath of the alleged vandalism by the police.
They also submitted a tentative price list of some of the damaged items, like windshields, side rear-view mirrors, and other parts.
The truckers said the windshields cost upwards of ₹11,000.
“The trucks were attacked because the owners had delayed in paying monthly fees to the police as a part of a deal to allow parking at the New Alipore yard,” said Sajal Ghosh, secretary of the Federation of West Bengal Truck Operators Association.
“The owners and other members of the association met senior officers at the police station and demanded compensation. The police said they will look into the demands,” he said.
The alleged vandalism by police officers on rows of trucks in New Alipore came to light on Wednesday morning when some truck drivers blocked the road to protest against the incident.
Senior officers at the Kolkata Police headquarters in Lalbazar were alerted about the allegations. By the evening, the four officers of New Alipore were suspended based on CCTV footage of the attack on the trucks. A departmental probe has been initiated against each of the sub-inspectors.
“There were reasons to believe that the four officers were involved, and they have been suspended,” a senior officer of Kolkata Police’s south division said.
“The investigation will cover why the officers went to the place where the trucks were parked; were they assigned any official duty; whose orders were they carrying out while vandalising the trucks; and several other things.”
The vandalism took place between 2.30am and 3am on Wednesday, just 500 metres from New Alipore police station, near a railway yard. The spot is close to the popular Suruchi Sangha Durga Puja.
Truck drivers alleged they often pay bribes for overloading, discrepancies between cargo and paperwork, or pending vehicle taxes — common reasons for being stopped by the police. “Bribing the police is not something new to us. Usually, in case of a disagreement, they stop at deflating tyres. What happened early on Wednesday was more damaging,” a truck driver said.