Kolkata, June 19 (IANS) The Diamond Harbour Police in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal has filed an FIR against Mitun Kumar Dey, an influential former officer from the district, who is considered a close associate of Abhishek Banerjee, the general secretary of the Trinamool Congress and a three-time Lok Sabha member, during the previous administration led by Mamata Banerjee.

The FIR against Dey, sources aware of the development said, has been registered following a complaint lodged by the Trinamool Congress councillor from Diamond Harbour Municipality, Dr Tamal Kumar Haldar.

In the complaint, Haldar had claimed that he was brutally tortured by Dey, as the erstwhile sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) of Diamond Harbour, after he went to the police station to register a complaint.

In the complaint, Dey was accused of stripping Haldar and then beating him severely as well as torturing him by applying electric shock. In the complaint, Haldar has also claimed that Dey also severely tortured one media person who was trying to cover that incident.

An insider from the Diamond Harbour Police District said that, on the basis of the complaint, Dey will also be questioned by the investigating officers.

Dey, the former SDPO of Diamond Harbour, was later promoted to the rank of Additional Superintendent of Diamond Harbour Police District. Then, before the Assembly elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) transferred him to the post of Kharagpur Superintendent of Railway Police in West Midnapore district.

This is not the first time that Dey’s name has been dragged into controversy. Last month, former three-time Trinamool Congress legislator from Magrahat (Paschim) Assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas district and a former member of the previous Mamata Banerjee-led cabinet, Giasuddin Molla, filed a police complaint against Abhishek Banerjee, also the nephew of Mamata Banerjee and Mitun Kumar Dey, at the local police station.

In his complaint, Molla accused Dey, the former sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) of Diamond Harbour subdivision in South 24 Parganas district, of unnecessary penal action against a section of local Trinamool Congress leaders and workers, who were not ready to accept Abhishek Banerjee’s autocratic way of running the party.

“A Trinamool Congress worker was severely beaten by Mitun Kumar Dey. He tortured the party workers physically and mentally inside the police station. As the then party legislator, I protested. But it did not work out. On the contrary, Mitun Kumar Dey scolded me and came running to beat me with his baton. I informed both Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee about this. But there was no solution,” said Molla.

He also said that Abhishek Banerjee knew everything, and rather Mitun Kumar Dey resorted to such activities following Banerjee’s instructions.

–IANS

src/dpb