New Delhi (19.08.2021): To probe post-poll violence, murder, sexual assault on women and allegations of rapes immediately after results of West Bengal Assembly elections were announced, a five-member bench of the Calcutta High Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the matter and also formed a special investigation team (SIT) to look into other related cases across the state.
The HC named three IPS officers serving in West Bengal as members of the SIT. They are Suman Bala Sahoo, Soumen Mitra and Ranveer Kumar. A retired judge of the Supreme Court will oversee the SIT’s work. The SIT will be headed by Sahoo.
Suman Bala Sahoo (IPS: 1987: WB) is the DGP, Telecommunication, and is the only woman IPS officer to hold such a rank in West Bengal at present. Before joining the CBI, Sahoo was a deputy commissioner in the Kolkata Police’s detective department and also worked in the CID as a special superintendent.
Soumen Mitra (IPS: 1988: WB) was recently appointed as the Kolkata Police Commissioner, for the second time in his career. Prior to this, Mitra was ADG, Training, from May 2016 to February 2021. During the 2016 assembly elections, the Election Commission of India had removed the then Kolkata Police chief Rajeev Kumar replacing Mitra with him.
Ranveer Kumar (IPS: 1990: WB) is now ADG, Administration, West Bengal Police Directorate. He has earlier served as the Inspector General of Police, North Bengal; ADG-Prisons, and ADG, Armed Police.
