The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday refused to pass any order on an action petition against Ajay Pal Sharma, an IPS officer from Uttar Pradesh who has been posted as Superintendent of Police in West Bengal, stating that it would not pass any order regarding any officer on election duty till April 29, when the second phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections is scheduled.
Read also: Petition filed in Supreme Court for ‘urgent’ removal of IPS Ajay Pal Sharma from Bengal for ‘partisan behaviour’
Later in the day, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court accusing Pal of being “highly partisan and acting inconsistently with his assigned role.”
On Tuesday, a lawyer orally sought an order barring Sharma, the Superintendent of Police appointed by the Election Commission for South 24 Parganas district, from working in the district.
The lawyer alleged that Sharma was violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by threatening Jehangir Khan, the TMC candidate from Valta, and his family.
Read also: Bengal heads to the second phase of polling with 142 seats, and all eyes are on Mamata against Suvendu in Bhabanipur.
Justice Krishna Rao clarified that the court will not take any action against any officer on poll duty till April 29, the end date of the second and final phase of the Bengal elections.
When the lawyer claimed that Sharma was intimidating voters, Justice Rao asked him to approach the Election Commission if there was any complaint.
In this regard, the lawyer claimed that the European Commission was informed about this, but there has been no response yet.
On Monday, the TMC released a video showing Sharma warning Khan. Although Khan was not at his residence at that time, Sharma asked his family members to convey the message to him.
Reacting to the development, TMC candidate Khan alluded to Telugu language action film ‘Pushpa’ and Bollywood cop film ‘Singham’ to say he would not allow “BJP-appointed police officials to threaten voters”.
“This is Bengal; if he is Singham, then I am Pushpa. No amount of threats or coercion by BJP-appointed police officials from Uttar Pradesh will be allowed in Valta,” he said.
“Sharma is a senior IPS officer and knows his duties and mandate as Superintendent of Police. He only went there with CAPF personnel to warn that no one should indulge in violence and intimidation before or on the polling day. He did not take any action,” West Bengal Chief Executive Manoj Kumar Agarwal told the media.
Meanwhile, the IEC on Tuesday removed Falta BDO Sourav Hazra hours before the second phase polls, citing non-cooperation with Superintendent of Police Sharma. Hazrat was transferred to Purulia. Valta is among 142 seats that will go to the polls on April 29.
On Monday, BJP’s Amit Malviya shared a video on
TMC’s MP Mahua Moitra on Monday uploaded the same video on
“This is not the taste of the BJP. We refrain from commenting on the TMC MP’s post,” BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar told the media.
