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West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on October 18 wrote a letter to chief minister Mamata Banerjee expressing his concern over recent alleged custodial death in the state.

In the letter, Dhankhar said: “Recent custodial death of Madan Ghorai alias Kalipada Ghorai of village Kanakpur in East Midnapore district, is yet another horrifying instance of dehumanising torture, assault and death in custody. Such shameful incidents, dotting the state, have assumed horrendous proportions, impeaching the credibility of rule of law and evidencing capsizing of administration of the criminal system.”

“There is outrage at such lawlessness in state and outside, and consequent to October 8 police excesses Balwinder Singh is already poster boy for blatant human rights violations in the state. While rampant human right violations, political violence, vendetta and custodial torture are on incremental trajectory, there is just no correctional recourse of any nature, including one under Sections 7 and 29 of the Police Act that provides for dismissal, penalty or suspension of erring and negligent police officers,” he wrote.

“This stance is an inescapable pointer that these gruesome violations are state sponsored. It is an open secret that politicised police has ‘finger in every pie’ of governance, a facet of police state,” the governor stated.

“Disturbing that in spite of my repeatedly flagging issue of human right violations, political violence and vendetta, Supreme Court directives, qua custodial violence and breach of human rights, continue to be flouted by police and administration, another instance of governance being police driven with political motivation, both aspects being antithetical to rule of law,” Dhankhar further stated.

“Madam chief minister, high time you redeem your constitutional oath and enforce rule of law, ensure ‘democratic governance’ in the state, make police and administration ‘politically neutral’ and accountable, sanitise power corridors of non-state actors and ensure that SSA and principal advisor internal security do not boss over the statutorily structured police apparatus, thereby reducing the DGP and other police officials to abject subordination and to insignificance,” the letter added.

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