Days after it launched its blog with a promise from city Police Commissioner Gautam Mohan Chakrabarty to make it a democratic interface with the public, the Kolkata police was found hurriedly blanking out a critical blog by a resident questioning the police chief using the platform for self-publicity. The police deleted the critical entry within 24 hours of it being posted.

While launching the blog site, Chakrabarty had said the best blogger at www.kolkatacops.com would even be rewarded. In his blog, Anindya Kishor Das, an auditor with the Indian Audit and Account Department, had questioned some of the workings of the police force. “I thought it was a good idea that the Kolkata police had launched its blog. But when I posted my comment, it was deleted within 24 hours. Has the blog been created only to talk about the good deeds of the police?” said Das.

Das said he had posted an entry on September 26 at 6.18 pm, in which he had said that the budget and expenditure details for the police force and its annual plan in terms of financial and economic matters, safety and security measures for public, smooth running of the traffic along with the performance, targets and achievements should be posted for the benefit of the public.

Das also wanted the blog site to publish the achievements of the constables and sub-inspectors as well as the activities of the errant officers. “Why is it that of the 35 photographs in the gallery, 31 have the CP’s face on them and why has the CP used the official Kolkata police blog to talk about his wife and children’s achievements? This is not his personal blog and if he chooses to write about his family, why don’t we have other constables writing about theirs?” Das asked.

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