Suvendu Adhikari’s message to police: follow the example of UP and Assam

• A spate of police encounter deaths in West Bengal has prompted concerns over custodial safeguards, police accountability and Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s support for armed action.

• SCRB figures obtained through RTI show 2,454 rape cases and 600 murders between 1 May and 24 September 2026, raising questions about the effectiveness of the government’s tough policing approach.

• Human rights activists, opposition leaders and a former IPS officer have demanded scrutiny of police accounts, independent investigations and punishment through the judicial system.

A police officer, asked how a mason would have got hold of a 9 mm pistol with which he allegedly fired at the police and was immediately shot dead, shrugged away the question. The pistols are easily procured from Bihar these days with as little as 8-10 thousand Rupees. Such defence of police encounters is becoming common even as a section of policemen express apprehensions over the transformation of a professional force into a trigger-happy force.

While the law mandates an inquiry and an FIR in all cases of encounter deaths, chief minister Suvendu Adhikari has made no secret of his support to the use of firearms. Firearms are not meant to be kept in pockets or in holsters, he has famously said. “If there is rape, murder, or any atrocity against our sisters and daughters, there will be justice. We have given the police a free hand. They will do whatever is necessary,” he said on a different occasion. On yet another occasion he quipped that police do not kill every accused but returns fire when fired upon. The government, he has declared more than once, has given the police operational freedom, a free hand to deal with culprits.

In July 2026 the chief minister was quoted as saying in the West Bengal Assembly, “I have told police in every meeting that if anything happens to any girl or woman, they need not wait for anybody's instructions. Do whatever is required under the law. The chief minister will protect you as a shield.”

The tough words and police encounters do not seem to have made much difference to the crime scene though. The State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB) in its response to RTI applications informed that between 1 May 2026 and 24 September 2026, West Bengal recorded as many as 2,454 rape cases. More worryingly, rape cases increased from 349 in May to 786 in July and then settled around 459 in August and 471 up to 24 September, as per replies to queries under RTI.  This same period has recorded as many as 600 murders in the state as per the Bureau.

The encounter deaths in the state during the past few months, the latest being on 9 November, are “premeditated, cold-blooded murders” fumes human rights activist Sujato Bhadra. He also questioned the training and competence of the policemen if they are repeatedly overpowered by the police. One of the FIRs after the Gaighata encounter, he recalls, mentioned that the accused sought permission to relieve himself while being escorted back from the alleged crime scene at night when he seized a firearm with one arm and fired even after falling to the ground. The police fired four rounds at him and as usual no policeman was injured.
“The account raises questions about custodial safeguards, handling of firearms and the capability of policemen escorting the accused. If the police version is accurate, there has been a grave failure of security. If it is not, the possibility of a custodial killing increases and demands a criminal investigation,” he said. Similarly, in Samserganj, Samaun Sheikh was accused of murdering a BJP worker whose body had not been found. Sheikh was however taken out of judicial custody for reconstruction and subsequently killed. His death, Bhadra believes, may have deprived investigators of crucial information about the crime, motivation and accomplices.
“The safety of a prisoner and the security of the escort team are the responsibility of the police, says former IPS officer Nazrul Islam. “Those who are guilty should be punished through the legal system,” exclaimed TMC (Mamata) MP and lawyer Kalyan Banerjee. Sujan Chakraborty, a member of CPI(M)’s Central Committee, said, “Police have been killing one accused after another. In a state governed by rule of law, the judiciary punishes the culprit, not the police”. “If police start opening fire, it will not be long before law and order collapses in the state,” said former Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Choudhary.
The Supreme Court's guidelines in PUCL v State of Maharashtra, Bhadra points out, mandate an independent investigation, proper documentation, forensic examination and a magisterial inquiry. Legitimising the action, as the chief minister is doing, even before an investigation, could prove to be counterproductive, he warned.