IPS Damayanti Sen, who came into limelight by investigating the Park Street Gangrape Case 14 years ago, is now at the center of power again. Suvendu Adhikari, the officer who was ‘sidelined’ in the Mamata government, has been given a big role in the Women’s Crime Investigation Committee. Is this just a comeback or are old political secrets about to be revealed again?
IPS Damayanti Sen: A decision has been taken in the politics and police department of West Bengal which has once again revived old wounds and controversies. The new Chief Minister of the state Suvendu Adhikari has played a move which has surprised everyone. Damayanti Sen, a bright IPS officer of 1996 batch, who investigated the much-discussed ‘Park Street Gang Rape Case’ of 2012 and was a victim of the anger of the then Mamata Banerjee government and was marginalized for the last 14 years, has made a historic comeback in the mainstream. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has handed over the most important role of Member Secretary to Damayanti Sen in a very powerful and high-profile committee formed to prevent and investigate violence against women and children in the state.
That dreadful night and Mamata Banerjee’s ‘concocted’ claim
This story begins on that cold night of 6 February 2012, when a woman named Suzette Jordan, returning from a night club in Kolkata’s prestigious Park Street area, was gang-raped in a moving vehicle. This incident happened just when Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) government came to power. Amidst the questions being raised on the law and order situation of the state, the then Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had publicly termed this heinous incident as a “Sajano Ghotona” i.e. a ‘fabricated story’ created to tarnish the image of the government. This statement of the Chief Minister had put an undeclared pressure on the entire police system, but then the command of this case was in the hands of a woman who was not one to waver.
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The price of truth and that ‘punishment’ transfer from Lalbazar to Barrackpur
Damayanti Sen, who has the distinction of becoming the first woman Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) in the history of Kolkata Police, set an example of professional integrity regardless of the political statements of the then Chief Minister. Along with his team, he not only detected the culprits within a few days, but also presented irrefutable evidence before the court and proved that the incident of gang rape was not a fabricated story but a bitter and horrifying reality. But Damayanti Sen had to pay the price of supporting the truth with huge administrative loss. Soon after the case was resolved, Mamata Banerjee removed him from Kolkata Police Headquarters (Lalbazar) and transferred him to a much less important and ‘side post’ of Barrackpore Commissionerate. Since then, during the entire TMC tenure, he was deliberately not entrusted with the investigation of any major case.
‘New era of justice’ will start from June 1: Suvendu government’s masterstroke
Recognizing Damayanti Sen’s ability, now the Suvendu Adhikari government has brought him back with full respect. This new special committee, formed under the chairmanship of retired Justice Samithi Chatterjee, will take direct action on the complaints of women and children in police stations and will work on the lines of public hearing. This committee is going to be officially launched from June 1 and Damayanti Sen has already started the work of collecting relevant data and evidence for it on a war footing. Political analysts believe that by giving this responsibility to Sen, Suvendu Adhikari has not only given priority to the safety of women, but has also given a strong message to the previous government that under his rule, the officers who support the truth and not suppress the truth will be punished.
