Bengal govt benches security adviser Surajit Kar Purakayastha till end of assembly poll

According to sources, the move was prompted by a nudge from the Election Commission of India

Surajit Kar Purakayastha: File picture

TT   |   Calcutta   |    25.03.21 :  Bengal chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay on Wednesday issued an order to seize the powers and responsibilities of state security adviser Surajit Kar Purakayastha, who was the former DGP of the state, during the upcoming Assembly polls.

The move, sources said, was prompted by a nudge from the Election Commission of India.

“The chief secretary and DGP held a meeting with the full bench of the EC in Siliguri on Wednesday morning and the order was issued in the evening. It is clear that the EC had instructed the chief secretary to issue the order,” said a source.

During the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the powers of all retired IAS and IPS officers, who had been serving the state government, had been seized. 

Purakayastha, who was appointed to the position of state security adviser in May 2018 after he retired as DGP, had the authority to access intelligence reports and send instructions to the district police superintendents, said sources.

“As this is not a cadre post and it had been a political appointment, the poll panel might have apprehended that he could interfere in the poll process. This is why his powers have been seized during the elections,” said an official.

Trinamul leaders said that the state security advisor was not interfering in the poll process as that was not within the ambit of his duties. “In 2019, his powers were seized during the Lok Sabha polls. We had won a majority of seats in 2019 and this year too we will come back to power,” said a Trinamul leader.