OC MUSICAL CHAIRS POLICE OFFICERS POSTED IN PARUI

Parui, June 2: The Parui police station officer in charge was today changed for the sixth time in about 21 months, although repeated clashes in the region indicate that shunting officers has failed to yield results on the ground.

Sub-inspector Amarjit Biswas was removed from the OC's post after last night's clashes in four villages in which two Trinamul activists were injured.

No one has been arrested yet for the clashes.

Biswas was initially closed in the police lines in Suri. Police superintendent Mukesh Kumar, who gave the order, did not comment despite several phone calls and a text message.

But later in the day, Kumar issued a fresh order shifting Biswas to Rampurhat police station. In the same order, several other transfers were announced, giving Biswas's shunting the semblance of a routine one.

The second order could be a result of some rumbling in the force as a section of officers felt Biswas had been treated unfairly for no fault of his. "Questions were being raised why Amarjit Biswas was closed in the police lines without any specific fault on his part. So many police officers were transferred to and from Parui over the past 21 months, but no one was closed in the police lines, which is humiliating," said a police officer in Birbhum.

Asked about the repeated shunting of officers and its effect on the ground, a senior police officer said on condition of anonymity that the police should first be given a free hand to tackle law and order problems. "Otherwise, it will not be possible for any OC to restore peace if he has to listen to a particular political party," the officer said.

Appointed in place of Biswas today was Nilotpal Mishra, who was the officer in charge of Parui police station from August 16, 2013 to July 4, 2014.

Mishra was removed from the post of Parui OC after he repeatedly refused to act on Trinamul complaints against party dissidents when he did not find corroborative evidence.

In November 2014, when the Parui OC was changed for the fourth time since 2013, a senior home department official said: "Even honest, upright and efficient officers won't be able to achieve anything concrete at Parui if they are transferred so frequently."

The officers were scared of "missing catches" as there were no second chances. "You need the assurance of being posted for at least a year in order to do your job well," he said.

A senior police officer in Birbhum said: "There was pressure on the police from superiors to control the continuing clashes in Parui. Last night's clashes in four villages and the lack of immediate action by the police appears to have been one of the triggers behind the decision to remove the OC."

There are over 100 villages under Parui police station. Some of them are in control of Trinamul, some others are BJP strongholds.

The facilities and manpower available to the Parui OC are two or three SUVs, around 6-10 officers and 40 constables.

Since the last panchayat elections, Trinamul activists have been locked in a turf war, first with dissidents from its own party, then the BJP, which managed to wean away many dissidents.

Police sources said one of the reasons behind removing Biswas could be the delay in bringing back a large number of Trinamul workers, who had fled in the face of BJP threats, to their homes.

At a public meeting last month in Hansra village, district Trinamul chief Anubrata Mondal had said he would soon speak to the SP and the subdivisional police officer regarding escorting Trinamul workers home to Makhra, which had witnessed several clashes between the BJP and Trinamul since October 2014.

A police officer in Parui said: "There was pressure from the district Trinamul leadership to have their party workers escorted home. But in villages where the BJP is in control, the task was becoming difficult because of resistance from them. So, the ruling party may have thought that they were not getting the necessary help from the OC of Parui."

In last night's clash between the BJP and Trinamul in Chhatarbandi, local gram panchayat member Mahuba Biwi and her husband Enamul Haque were seriously injured. Their house was also ransacked.

The BJP has denied any involvement and countered, saying their activists were attacked.

Bilkis Biwi, daughter-in-law of Mahuba, said: "BJP activists climbed the boundary wall of our house after hurling bombs in the courtyard. The goons entered the house by breaking the door. They then hacked my mother-in-law and father-in-law with an axe. When they tried to flee to the roof, the goons fired at them and a bullet grazed my mother-in-law's right arm. One of them stabbed my father-in-law in the right eye with a knife."

A police officer said Trinamul activists had attempted to drive away the BJP supporters from Chhatarbandi, Hansra, Belpata and Gorapara villages yesterday, but the rival party had resisted.

The recent round of clashes broke out days after chief minister Mamata Banerjee told the Assembly that the alleged cases of violence in Parui were old incidents.

The BJP's sole MLA, Samik Bhattacharya, countering Mamata's claim demanded a discussion on Parui, which Speaker Biman Banerjee refused to allow.

Bhattacharya then walked out.

He later said the Birbhum police chief's report that the chief minister had placed in the House was incorrect. "Otherwise why was there a need to transfer the Parui officer in charge?" he asked.

He added: "That day, I had told the chief minister that I had gone to Parui and we saw for ourselves the injured persons in renewed clashes. Even women were not spared. Several people have died. If no steps are taken, violence will continue, no matter how many times the OC is changed."