West Bengal transfers Muslim IPS officer for saying ‘Assalam Aleikum’

The West Bengal Police has come up with no explanation why the ASP Bushra Bano, IPS, who hails from Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh, was transferred abruptly barely two and a half months after her posting to Kharagpur; nor has the government explained what ‘public interest’ the transfer is designed to serve.

The transfer is likely to be explained away as ‘routine’; but a section of the IPS officers in the state believe the transfer is linked to the complaint filed by a self-styled Hindu Legal Fund which took offence to the police officer’s use of certain words with Arabic origin but widely used by Hindi and Urdu speakers in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The three innocuous expressions used were Inshallah (If God wills), Salaam Alaikum (Peace be upon you) and Jazak Allah (May Allah reward you). The police officer would be both amused and shocked at rabid Hindus objecting to the expressions, just as most Hindus out of ignorance object to the expression Allah-hu-Akbar (Allah is the Greatest). The officer, born in Kannauj in UP and having studied in Aligarh Muslim University and having worked in Saudi Arabia as an Assistant Professor before returning to India and cracking the UPSC exam, would have felt nothing wrong in using the expressions.

Founding editor of The Wire Siddharth Varadarajan reacted by posting the disputed video and tweeting, “Amit Shah as Home Minister represents the Indian State. He is allowed to shout a directly religious slogan like 'Jai Shri Ram' whenever he likes. But a Muslim IPS officer who says Assalam Aleikum—a greeting which is not even religious but means 'peace be upon you'— has now been punitively transferred by the West Bengal government under pressure from fascist oriented social media handles”.

In any case she was delivering a motivational talk to a predominantly Muslim audience, mostly women, and sharing her own experience of cracking the UPSC. She was doing so in her spare time and not in discharge of her official functions or in public.  The Hindu Legal Fund, however, found it objectionable and lodged a complaint with the West Bengal Home Secretary seeking an inquiry and suitable action against the officer. Why didn’t she use expressions like ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Jai Hind’, the complainant enquired. "She began with Assalam Alaikum, said Inshallah and ended with Jazakallah,” stated the outraged complainant.

The Government could have buried the complaint, quietly explaining to the complainant that they should refrain from reducing themselves to a laughing stock. However, the state Home Department and the West Bengal DGP acted with great alacrity and ordered the transfer of the IPS officer ‘in public interest’. She has been posted as the Deputy Commandant of the 4^th Battalion of the state armed police.

In the video posted on Sunday, 13 September the police officer is heard addressing UPSC aspirants and recall her own experience with AMU’s Residential Coaching Academy. She also discussed the role of study material, libraries and tests in preparing for the UPSC.

“Service rules do not prescribe mandatory use of "Jai Hind" or "Vande Mataram" either in non-official gatherings,” claimed an IPS officer of the West Bengal cadre. Nor does the mere use of the expressions "Assalam Alaikum", "Inshallah" or "Jazakallah" amount to a breach of service conduct, he added. The officer recalled an IAS officer in Kerala, who was suspended in 2024 after creating a WhatsApp group called "Mallu Hindu Officers". The officer maintained that his phone had been hacked. Bushra Bano, the officer said, has done nothing that can remotely be held to be unbecoming of an officer.

Most Muslim officers have either been sidelined or transferred to less important positions since the BJP government came to power in May 2026, confirmed another officer of the West Bengal cadre. Speaking up is not an option, he rued and pointed out the FIR filed against TMC MP Mahua Moitra when she pointed out that Muslim officers were neither invited nor allowed to greet the union home minister when he visited north Bengal.

“We have no choice but to remain silent, as speaking out could jeopardise our careers. We are in touch with our state and central associations and are hoping for some remedy. This is happening across the country,” he added.