Key Points

In the purported video, the cop, said to be an Assistant Commissioner of Police, was also heard addressing the Chief Minister as “Didi (elder sister)”.

‘These are all gifted by Didi,” the cop was heard saying in the video. IANS, however, could not cross-check the authenticity of the said video.

The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, shared the video on his official X handle in the afternoon and questioned how an Assistant Commissioner of Police could behave in such a manner and engage himself in the distribution of sarees gifted by the Chief Minister, ignoring his responsibilities and dignity as a cop. He identified the police officer as ACP Santanu Sinha Biswas.

According to Adhikari, if there were no police in West Bengal, the ruling party would not have even existed. “I have said this before. I am providing this video again as evidence,” said Adhikari.

The LoP claimed in the video that the cop was seen distributing sarees to the women of Ward No. 73 in Bhabanipur, at the Swaraj Sangha Club on Madan Pal Lane. Incidentally, the area also comes under the jurisdiction of the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency in South Kolkata, where the legislator is the Chief Minister.

“Along with that, he was even saying that ‘Didi has given it.’ Can an ACP-level police officer do this?” the LoP questioned.

“No wonder I call the police, Mamata Police! Because in this state, the police have long since turned into Trinamool cadres, and now the situation is such that the responsibility of keeping Trinamool in power lies more with these police leaders than with the party's leaders, because if the government changes, they will have to face the consequences of their misdeeds,” Adhikari claimed further.

However, he added, the people of Bhabanipur could understand that this is not social service; preparations for votes are underway. “But no matter how much cloth is bought with the money from your looting and plundering, Mamata Banerjee will have to lose in Bhabanipur. In 2026, Bhabanipur is going to be Nandigram 2.0...” LoP Adhikari said in his X post.

To recall, in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly polls, the Chief Minister contested from Nandigram Assembly constituency in East Midnapore district and got defeated by Adhikari by a margin of a little less than 2,000 votes.

Later, she contested in the by-elections from Bhabanipur, got elected, and became the Chief Minister for the third consecutive term.

- IANS