Friday, 25 April 2025
Friday, 25 April 2025
The Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma Friday claimed self-defence behind Wednesday’s brutal assault on protesting schoolteachers at the District Inspector’s office in Kasba.
“When we are attacked, we act in self-defence. You are saying they are teachers but they attacked us first. We were left with no choice and yet minimal force was used,” Verma said addressing a news conference at Lalbazaar, the city police headquarters. “Use of force is the last option for Kolkata police, never the first. We will never use force until and unless we are left with no option which was the case in Kasba.”
Verma said the incident could have been avoided had the teachers kept to their schedule. The protesters are accused of scaling the wall of the DI office and trying to enter the premises forcibly.
“The teachers didn’t follow the programme. We were prepared and would have allowed them to protest peacefully. A lot of bad words like gunda and demon are being used against the Kolkata police. Are you expecting us to do nothing if the public overpowers us and attacks us?” Verma asked.
On Wednesday, Verma had blamed the protesting teachers over the violence in Kasba earlier that day.
“Four police personnel including two women were injured in the attack by the protestors. We have the video footage. The situation was going out of hand. The on-duty cops had to make a mild lathi-charge,” CP Verma said.
The incumbent police chief’s words echoed similar sentiments as those uttered by his predecessor Vineet Goyal in the days following the rape and murder of a 31-year old postgraduate trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital last August. Similar protests had erupted in the state capital and elsewhere.
During a “reclaim the night” protest in the intervening night of August 14 and 15, a mob went on the rampage at the RG Kar medical college and hospital. During his visit to the teaching hospital the following day, Goyal had attributed a “malicious media campaign” behind the violence.
“My men have also been injured in the attack… What have police not done to crack this case? But there has been a malicious media campaign that has been going on,” Goyal had said then.
According to CP Verma 13 officers including Litton Das, who was snapped kicking a protester, sustained injuries during Wednesday’s demonstration led by the schoolteachers who lost their jobs last week after the Supreme Court called their appointment “tainted and vitiated.”
The decision affected 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff who appeared in the selection tests announced in 2016.
The appointment was marred in controversy following complaints of jobs-for-cash in which the former state education minister Partha Chatterjee, some Trinamool MLAs and several officials of the school service commission were found involved.
“Litton Das has injuries in his chest and groin. They even slapped him on the ear,” said Verma explaining the alleged attack on the teachers.
The CP claimed among those protesting on Wednesday at the DI’s office not all were from the teaching community.
“It wasn’t just the teachers, intruders were also there. In the chaos it was difficult to identify who was who. We are currently trying to find out the others who were part of the mob (during the Kasba incident). Our investigation is on,” said Verma.
The Kolkata Police had earlier in the day announced Litton Das, the officer accused of kicking a protesting teacher, as the investigating officer of the case. The decision was later reversed following questions on how a person accused of hitting teachers could probe the case.
Defending the decision Verma said, “His name was announced because he was the duty officer (when the incident took place). Kolkata Police follows a file system where the duty officer is made the investigation officer. Depending on the circumstances the cases are redistributed. A new IO has been appointed in this case.”
