Rajeev Kumar, the commissioner of Kolkata Police, is the man in the eye of the storm as the tussle between the Mamata Banerjee government and the NDA regime at the Centre intensifies.
A 1989-batch IPS officer of West Bengal cadre, Kumar took over police commissioner in January, 2016. He made his name while he was the commissioner of Bidhannagar.
Kumar had headed the special investigation team (SIT) probing the Saradha and Rose Valley scams before the CBI took over the probe. The CBI wants to question the top cop on the investigation into the scams and some “missing documents”.
Rajeev Kumar is believed to be close to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. When there were reports in the media that the CBI may question the police chief, Mamata came to his support.“The Kolkata Police Commissioner is among the best in the world. His integrity, bravery and honesty are unquestioned. He is working 24x7, and was on leave for only one day recently. When you spread lies, the lies will always remain lies,” she said.
Fifty-three-year old Rajeev Kumar is a computer science graduate from IIT Roorke. He was known for his prowess in electronic surveillance when he was the chief of the special task force.
{{/usCountry}}Fifty-three-year old Rajeev Kumar is a computer science graduate from IIT Roorke. He was known for his prowess in electronic surveillance when he was the chief of the special task force.
{{/usCountry}}The BJP has attacked Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee for throwing her weight behind the police commissioner.
Senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar said that it was strange that the CM was sitting on a protest to protect a police officer from whom the CBI only wants to ask a few questions. “It is unprecedented that a chief minister should sit on a dharna to protect a police officer,” Javadekar said.
The showdown began on Sunday when a CBI team reached Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar’s house to question him over the Saradha scam. In retaliation, Kolkata Police also sent its teams to the CBI offices in the the city and the residence of CBI’s West Bengal unit chief Pankaj Srivastava.