It is common to hear allegations that the police “tampers” with complaints to facilitate “easy investigation.” But this time, the allegation has come from none other than Kolkata police commissioner Gautam Mohan Chakraborty, who on Friday rapped the officer-in-charge of the New Alipore police station for “suppressing” a snatching case and “presenting” it as a case of mere “rash driving.”
Referring to a case where a senior lady doctor’s complaint of her chain having been snatched was recorded as a case of rash driving at the New Alipore police station, the top cop asked deputy commissioner (south) Supratim Sarkar to take action against the investigating officer (IO) of the case.
In June 2010, Dr Arpita Lahiri, a resident of Block-G in New Alipore, was taking an evening walk when three miscreants riding a motorcycle, pushed her aside and snatched her chain. “Despite being a case of snatching, the officer in the police station registered a case of rash driving (Section 279) and that of causing hurt and endangering life (Section 337). The snatching incident was not mentioned. In fact, the IO has mentioned in the complaint that the miscreants were holding flags, which is completely false. Why does a complainant has to go to the DC to re-register her case?” the top cop had reportedly questioned his officers.
Sources revealed that Dr Lahiri, after coming to know that her case was not registered for snatching, had met DC South. It was then that the snatching case was tagged with the original one. No one has been arrested in the case till now.