Mamata dials President.Why top cop was axed!

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Mamata dials President

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Calcutta, Feb. 15: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee is learnt to have taken to President Pranab Mukherjee her grievances against governor M.K. Narayanan after his statement on the police chief's transfer. In the absence of official confirmation, several versions were in the air about the chief minister's reported call to the President. But sources said the call was informal in nature and cannot be termed a formal complaint against the governor who had yesterday said that if the police chief was "removed for what happened in the last few days, quite clearly there is something wrong…." Narayanan had also said in reply to a question on the ruling party in Bengal that "I presume they should be asked whether they are capable of running a government or not". Trinamul leader Partha Chatterjee had met the governor today for what sources close to the minister said was a pre-budget meeting. But other sources said the meeting was unscheduled. Former Trinamul central minister Sultan Ahmed said tonight that "the governor should not act as a former police officer" but "as governor of the state". Trinamul sources said the chief minister met senior party leaders Mukul Roy and Partha Chatterjee at her home this afternoon, where she expressed her unhappiness with the way minister Firhad Hakim handled the entire episode. The sources claimed that she also mentioned that Hakim had "misinformed" her by saying that Mukhtar had fired at Chowdhury. However, it is possible that Mamata made the reported statements for the consumption of Chatterjee. Following the Garden Reach firing, some leaders led by Chatterjee and mayor Sovan Chatterjee were publicly expressing their unhappiness with Hakim and seeking action against him. In the light of the ouster of the police commissioner, Hakim appears to be politically safe for the time being, unless fresh revelations make him a big liability. "She made it clear that any apparent action against Hakim at this juncture would cause damage to both the party and the government… For the time being, Hakim has been advised to lie low," said a Trinamul insider. In the recent months, Hakim, an MLA from Calcutta Port, got the position of the most trusted lieutenant of Mamata and has been handling the affairs of Calcutta police, minority affairs and various other key issues. The rise of Hakim in the Trinamul echelons — the urban development minister had announced the recent shuffle in the CMC's mayoral council instead of Sovan — had caused heartburn in some sections of the party. Against this backdrop, the message from Mamata that Hakim would not face any action as of now is significant as it proves that his position in the party is secure. It is believed that Roy, who has always found Hakim by his side in the inner-party power struggle, requested Mamata to steer clear of taking any action against Hakim in view of its potential impact. "Roy told her that any public rebuke of Hakim would have a negative impact on the party's organisation in the port area and the entire south Calcutta, to which Mamata agreed," the source said. The chief minister, however, said there would be no let- up on Munna, who has been referred to in the FIR on Chowdhury's murder. She added that the police would also have to arrest Mukhtar. Till late this evening, both Munna and Mukhtar were at large and sources in the CID — which took up the probe from Calcutta police last night — said they had started the hunt for the duo and some other accused in the case. "There is a possibility that Munna may surrender soon," said a Trinamul insider, while adding that efforts had already started to convince him to surrender before the court. However, the source would not comment if it would be a token arrest and whether the tough FIR against him would be retained as such. With Mamata giving the go-ahead for action against Munna — whom Hakim was trying to protect — it was decided at the end of the meeting that the message has to be conveyed to the governor. Source said Chatterjee met Narayanan following the meeting with Mamata. Contacted, Chatterjee confirmed that he was with Narayanan for about half an hour, but refused to divulge what transpired between them. Roy, however, iterated the official line behind the transfer today while speaking to reporters in Rejinagar in Murshidabad. "In the Garden Reach incident, action by the police was delayed. The chief minister was peeved over this and transferred R.K. Pachnanda. The chief minister herself is the home minister, so she orders such transfers." Why top cop was axed MONALISA CHAUDHURI Trinamul top rung ordered police chief to fudge FIR Commissioner told his time was up on Tuesday night Pachnanda unlikely to take up new job to avoid 'humiliation' Complainant: Mohammad Iqbal alias Munna Murderer: Mohammad Mukhtar Accidental victim: Sub-inspector Tapas Chowdhury Ranjit Kumar Pachnanda was removed as police commissioner for not framing the FIR in the Garden Reach murder as dictated by a Trinamul minister and approved by the party leadership on Tuesday afternoon, The Telegraph has learnt. "The commissioner was repeatedly told by a Trinamul leader on Tuesday afternoon that the FIR must state that Mukhtar was the shooter, Munna his target and sub-inspector Chowdhury died in the line of fire trying to save Munna," said a senior member of the police team that carried out the arrests from Garden Reach later that day. Instead, he ordered the arrest of several goons with Trinamul links, named Munna (Trinamul councillor of Ward 134 and ally of Firhad Hakim) in the FIR of Chowdhury's murder and did not mention Mukhtar (a former CPM henchman who has now switched to the Congress) in the murder case. This not only cost Pachnanda his job but also prompted a punishment posting as director (security), which sources said he was unlikely to take up in order to avoid "humiliation" at the hands of the chief minister, for whose security he would be directly responsible. He would, instead, try for a posting in Delhi, the sources said. The commissioner was, apparently, "shocked" at the idea of a false FIR to save some Trinamul goons after a colleague had been killed on duty. Shock led to "horror" when the same diktat came from the top. When the police force — led by the commissioner — tried to tell the Trinamul leadership that officers on the spot had seen the shooting and Mukhtar had nothing to do with it, the witnesses were branded as "CPM officers". When the TV footage of Abdus Subhan shooting the sub-inspector was referred to, ABP Ananda and 24 Ghanta were dismissed as "CPM channels". With the force rallying behind him, Pachnanda defied the diktat. The FIR was filed against the accused and 10 persons, many with Trinamul links, were rounded up. On Tuesday night itself, the Trinamul leadership conveyed to the commissioner that his time was up — for naming Munna in the FIR and arresting "the wrong people". The sacking was made official less than 48 hours later by the chief minister on her return from Digha. Pachnanda did not report for duty as director (security) on Friday, having applied for and been granted leave till the end of the month. Why? The personal reason: "For his ailing mother," said a source. The professional reason: "Taking up the new post would leave him open to humiliation from the chief minister every day on duty. He would rather leave the state altogether and spend his last five years in service with his head held high," said a colleague. Head held high is how Pachnanda left Lalbazar on Thursday night, after Mamata Banerjee chose to sack him — ostensibly for failing to arrest all the criminals named in the FIR for the murder of the sub-inspector in Garden Reach on Tuesday. "No one in the force believes the official reason given by the chief minister," said a senior officer. As director of security, Pachnanda would be responsible for Mamata's security. His predecessor Virendra would report for duty at Mamata's Kalighat residence in the morning, wait outside in a small room, then follow her to Writers', spend the day at his chamber on the first floor of Writers' till she made her next move, and then shadow her everywhere. "The former commissioner has been deliberately posted there to reduce him to a glorified havildar at the chief minister's beck and call," said an officer. "This is the price a commissioner pays for doing his duty and standing up for a colleague who has been murdered in daylight by goons of the ruling party." What message has the commissioner's sacking sent out to the force? "If the commissioner of police can be sacked for arresting a few Trinamul goons, why will any officer ever arrest a goon with Trinamul links?" demanded an officer. Another officer, "demoralised and disgusted" by the government's actions in the past 48 hours, put it bluntly: "The next time an officer sees a woman being raped, he will politely ask the goon, 'are you Trinamul?'. If the goon says 'yes', the officer will say, 'please carry on'. For, in this city, the Trinamul is above the law." For 48 hours after the death of sub-inspector Chowdhury, though, some Trinamul goons in Garden Reach were not above the law. Pachnanda acted like "a true commissioner" and the force rallied around him to telling effect. No wonder the police commissioner got the "ultimate applause" on Thursday evening from his force in Lalbazar. First, senior officers came into his room to salute him for doing what was right. Then, as he was leaving, around 9.30pm, the corridors were packed with policemen, many with tears in their eyes. Pachnanda's voice was choked with emotion while thanking them. "The chief minister's actions have made him a martyr. And for the force, he leaves a hero after 48 glorious hours," an officer said.