The Election Commission has asked all district magistrates in Bengal to immediately withdraw the state-provided security of people accused in criminal cases and those whose rank or threat perception assessment make them ineligible for such protection.
Sources said the Bengal-specific move was initiated after chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar asked during a videoconference on Thursday why people facing criminal charges enjoyed government security while the judicial officers held hostage in Mothabari could not be given adequate protection.
Some officials welcomed the move saying scores of politicians, particularly from Trinamool, used their government security to intimidate people, especially during polls. The poll panel order does not apply to private security, though.
Others said the commission should issue a similar directive to the Union home ministry, which arranges central security for many Bengal BJP leaders, some of them accused in criminal cases.
What if a politician is attacked after the withdrawal of security, a senior police officer asked.
The order on “reassessment of security cover”, dated April 2, said the security of those “accused in criminal cases/ bailed/ on parole/ having criminal antecedent and others, not entitled for security because of rank and threat perception, should be withdrawn by today midnight positively”.
Officials said that with the order arriving late on Thursday night, they were interpreting the deadline as Friday midnight.
The order directs the nodal officer in the state police to submit a detailed list of people enjoying official security.
Security spree
“During Left Front rule, only a few leaders had state government security. Under Trinamool, over 200 people, most of them ruling party leaders and many with criminal records, now have such security,” a retired bureaucrat, formerly director of security with the state government, said.
He said Z+ security — the highest level — is given to a handful of people including chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. Sovan Chatterjee too enjoyed Z+ security when he was Calcutta
mayor.
The governor receives Z-category security, once also extended to a select few like cricket celebrity Sourav Ganguly, the former bureaucrat added.
“Many ruling party leaders in the districts who face serious criminal charges enjoy Y+ and Y security,” an official said.
“If their security is withdrawn, they will find it difficult to step out of their homes (because of popular anger) since many of them had used their security to terrorise their areas.”
