Bengal govt 'defends' police action on protesting job losers

Kolkata, April 9 (IANS) A West Bengal minister, a senior bureaucrat and a top police officer on Wednesday justified the action of the police on the protesting individuals who lost their school jobs at different pockets of the state. The most intense protest was witnessed at Kasba in South Kolkata near the office of the district inspector of schools.

Although several protestors received major injuries following the massive cane-charge by the police personnel present at Kasba, Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma described the action as a mild one and that too was prompted by the attack on the cops by the protestors.

“The police were attacked first. Six policemen, including two women cops, were injured. There is video footage of the attacks on the cops,” Verma said.

Thereafter, he claimed that the police were forced to take mild action to keep the situation under control and prevent additional damage.

Seconding the police commissioner, Chief Secretary Manoj Pant said that if there are attempts to vandalise government property or attack the police, the cops by rule have to take action.

However, several protesters who were protesting at Kasba earlier in the day refuted the claims by the city police commissioner that the police action was “mild”.

A few protesters even flashed their injuries — apparently caused by the impact of police batons — to the media cameras.

West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu also justified the police action, saying those who lost jobs will have to decide whether they would like to go for negotiations with the state government or resort to such a “destructive movement” under the provocation of vested interests.

“Where does the question arise even after the state government is extending full cooperation to the job losers? We have not given any termination letters to anyone. So what are these protests for,” he said.

Last week, a division bench of the Supreme Court upheld a previous order by a division bench of Calcutta High Court in April last year cancelling the entire panel of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching jobs on grounds that the state government and the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) to segregate the “genuine” candidates from the “tainted” ones getting jobs against payment on Monday.

On Wednesday, the job losers, reportedly “genuine” ones, assembled in hundreds in different offices associated with the state education department in different pockets of the state, demanding immediate action on the part of the state government and WBSSC in segregating the “genuine” candidates from the “tainted” ones.

–IANS

src/pgh