On a day when its chief whip said the Left Front was in power but was powerless,there was more embarrassment for the CPM in store. On Friday,IG (North Bengal) Kundan Lal Tamta was transferred despite being backed by Minister for Urban Development Ashok Bhattacharya. In fact,the development is being seen as a victory for DGP Bhupinder Singh who was adamant on shifting the IG despite the fact that Bhattacharya strongly rooted for the stay of Tamta at Siliguri. In an unprecedented way,the DGP on Friday criticised the IG saying that he was claiming credit for doing his duty which a police officer should not do. As the IG,along with a host of other IPS officers,was transferred last week,an upset Bhattacharya said on Thursday that Tamtas transfer was stalled. The IG also wrote a letter to Home Secretary Samar Ghosh,requesting him to retain him at his post as he most effectively fought the GJM in Darjeeling. All that was in vain as a meeting of a five-member Police Establishment Board (PEB),comprising the DGP,ADG (Telecom),ADG (Railways),ADG (IB) and Kolkata Police chief that decides on transfers of all police officials,on Friday approved the transfer. The PEB regretted Tamtas representation as it was not addressed to the proper forum. We will see whether he has broken any protocol. The representation has been rejected and sent to the government. We wonder how one police officer can claim that he had fought single-handedly with one outfit. It is always a team work, the DGP said after the meeting.
