Asok slams Siliguri police

TT, Siliguri, Oct. 16: Siliguri MLA Asok Bhattacharya today alleged that police had failed to maintain law and order in the town and he would write to the chief minister and the state home secretary seeking their intervention.

"A number of incidents have occurred in Siliguri in the past few months. A girl was raped and murdered; a working woman went missing and is still untraceable. Smugglers and fake currency racketeers are taking shelter at hotels in Siliguri," Bhattacharya told journalists in the Darjeeling district CPM office here.

"As the local MLA, I am worried and feel officers of the Siliguri metropolitan police have failed to deliver their responsibilities. I am worried over the security of women who work at educational institutions and corporate houses and return home in the evening. So, I have decided to write to the chief minister and the state home secretary seeking their intervention," he added.

Trinamul leader Ranjan Sarkar said the MLA was raising baseless allegations to divert attention from his failure to perform as the Siliguri mayor.

"Many crimes, including the recent murder of a tribal girl, have been solved. There has been no major law and order breach in town and several people have been arrested in different cases. The MLA is indulging in politics and making baseless remarks against the police only to divert people's attention from his failure to perform as the mayor. The MLA himself had praised the police after Durga Puja for playing an active role during the festival," said Sarkar.