Security deployment outside properties linked to former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was scaled down on Wednesday morning, days after the Trinamool Congress lost power in the state assembly elections.
According to police officials, the changes came into effect from 6:30 am at three prominent locations associated with the party leadership. These include 188A Harish Chatterjee Street, which is Mamata Banerjee’s residence, 121 Kalighat Road, the Trinamool Congress headquarters, and 9 Camac Street, where Abhishek Banerjee’s office operates.
“Police arrangements outside three premises – 188A Harish Chatterjee, 121 Kalighat Road and 9 Camac Street – have been scaled down from 6:30 am on Wednesday. Some of the security arrangements, like scissor barricades, were replaced by manual guardrails on Tuesday,” Hindustan Times quoted a police officer aware of the developments as saying.
As per the report by Hindustan Times, police sources said that several high-security measures installed during the previous government’s tenure have now been withdrawn. Machine-operated scissor barricades positioned near Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat residence were reportedly removed on Tuesday and replaced with standard manual barricades.
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Z+ security to continue
Officials clarified that the leaders will continue to receive Z+ category protection. However, additional deployment beyond the sanctioned cover has now been discontinued.
“Only the Z+ security arrangement will remain. The extra police personnel, who were deployed beyond the Z+ category security, were withdrawn,” Hindustan Times cited an IPS officer familiar with the matter as stating.
Sources in Kolkata Police said the order regarding the reduction in deployment was communicated through an internal memo issued by the Joint Commissioner of Police (HQ) on Tuesday.
The move comes after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a decisive victory in the recently concluded West Bengal assembly elections. The BJP won 207 seats, while the TMC managed 80 seats in the 294-member assembly. Repolling has been ordered by the Election Commission in one constituency.
Advocate general resigns
Meanwhile, West Bengal Advocate General Kishore Datta has also stepped down following the change in government. “I have sent my resignation to the Governor on Tuesday,” Datta told Hindustan Times.
Datta had been serving as the state’s advocate general since December 2023 and had earlier held the same post between 2017 and 2021.
