Police have full freedom to ensure Rule of Law : WB CM

New Delhi, Oct 28, 2026 : West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has said that the police have full freedom to take necessary decisions to establish the rule of law in the state. He warned that anyone taking the law into their own hands would not be spared. Speaking after a meeting at the state police headquarters, Bhavani Bhavan, yesterday evening, Mr Adhikari said the police could take independent decisions in cases involving drug abuse and crimes against women.

Meanwhile, two deaths in police firing in the state on the same day have triggered a political controversy. In Gaighata, North 24 Parganas, Prahlad Das, accused in the rape and murder of a minor girl, died in police firing. Police alleged that he snatched a firearm and opened fire during a reconstruction of the crime, prompting the police to retaliate in self-defence. In a separate incident in Dhulian, Murshidabad, Samayun Sheikh, an accused in the murder of BJP worker Sujit Mondal last September, died in similar circumstances during a crime reconstruction exercise by the CID. Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury questioned the incidents, saying they deprived investigators of the opportunity to obtain crucial information from the accused. CPI(M) leader Mohammed Salim described the encounters as staged. However, BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya rejected the opposition’s allegations, arguing that the term ‘encounter’ was being misinterpreted.