Kolkata political rallies to have police personnel to counter violence: Commissioner

Police Commissioner of Kolkata Anuj Sharma on Friday asked officers-in-charge of police stations within its jurisdiction to deploy personnel at all political rallies, to counter any untoward incident, as per sources. Sharma gave the instructions during a meeting with senior police officers. He also asked the officers to keep track of bike thefts, about which he expressed ”concern”.

”Over the next couple of months, there will be political rallies almost everywhere. However, promptly sending forces from the Lalbazar headquarters to those locations in the event of an emergency will not always be possible. Hence, the commissioner gave directions for the deployment of forces from local police stations,” the source said.

This measure has been taken to curb the violence that has been taking place in the capital city of the poll-bound state for quite some time. As assembly elections are ahead, the city police are doing their bit to tighten the security and maintain safety all across the city. 

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Meanwhile, Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday cancelled his 2-day trip to poll-bound Bengal. Sources report that Shah has called off his trip in view of the blast outside the Israel Embassy in New Delhi. He is also likely to meet top security and intelligence officials on Saturday to discuss the investigation.

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West Bengal Assembly Elections 2021

The West Bengal Assembly with 294 seats will go to polls in April-May 2021, Trinamool holds 222 seats at present. However, BJP has made major inroads in the state in the Lok Sabha elections winning 18 seats out of 42 and establishing itself as the major opposition force in the state. Recently, TMC trumped BJP in all 3 bypolls, but the BJP is using its booth-level strategy and has regularly dispatched its top leaders including Amit Shah and JP Nadda in the state for winning the upcoming elections. 

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