Sanchita Chatterjee, BS News Agency: Three members of the Flying Squad assigned to the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency have been suspended. Allegations of dereliction of duty have been leveled against them. The Election Commission has also directed that departmental proceedings be initiated against these three suspended members of the Bhabanipur Flying Squad. It has been stipulated that their suspension—as well as any subsequent departmental actions—cannot be revoked without the explicit consent of the District Election Officer (DEO) for South Kolkata. The three suspended members of the Bhabanipur Flying Squad have been identified as Satyarajan Pan, Soubhik Nandi, and Suranjan Das. The trio was assigned to the night shift; they were scheduled to be on duty from 9:00 PM on Friday until 7:00 AM on Saturday. However, during a surprise inspection conducted by the Commission's Expenditure Observer, D. Rajnath Kumar, instances of dereliction of duty were observed. As late as 10:30 PM on Friday, the three individuals were found sitting at a location near the Bhabanipur Police Station. Allegations arose that they were not performing any of their assigned duties. Consequently, the three members of the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency's Flying Squad—Satyarajan Pan, Soubhik Nandi, and Suranjan Das—were placed under suspension.
In response to this incident, the Election Commission stated that the three members of the Flying Squad were failing to properly discharge the responsibilities entrusted to them. Under these circumstances, allegations of negligence in duty were raised against them. Subsequently, the Commission ordered an inquiry into the conduct of the three individuals, ultimately leading to their suspension.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission has issued a stern warning to Officers-in-Charge (OCs) and Sub-Divisional Police Officers (SDPOs) of the State Police. This stern message was conveyed through various channels—via phone calls to some, text messages to others, and direct face-to-face interactions with yet others. Reports indicate that the Election Commission has issued a strict cautionary note, emphasizing that absolutely no leniency will be shown should any incidents of election-related unrest occur. The Commission has made it clear that the OCs of the respective police stations and the SDPOs will be held directly accountable for any disturbances or law-and-order issues that may arise.
