Chief minister Mamata Banerjee at an investiture ceremony for West Bengal police at Nazrul Mancha on Wednesday. Addressing the lawkeepers, Mamata said she was ready to face criticism for mistakes the police make while on duty. ‘Kono-kono kshetre bhul hoye geley samalochona hotei pare, sei samalochonake ami welcome kori (In some cases, there might be criticism if there’s a mistake. I welcome such criticism),’ Mamata, also the state home minister, said. ‘But you should remember, if the mistake is only zero to one per cent, you have achieved success in most cases, which too should be considered.’ Sources said the ‘zero to one per cent’ of mistakes the chief minister referred to included investigation in cases such as the Parui murder and the Saradha scam where alleged inaction by the state police prompted the court to hand over the probe to the CBI. In the awards ceremony, Hooghly was declared the best police district of 2014, while Bidhannagar (South), Binpur of West Midnapore and Faridpur of the Durgapur commissionerate were declared the best police stations. Nine civic police personnel and four civilians were given bravery awards.

Picture by Bishwarup Dutta