Bengal: Cooch Behar police chief Debasish Dhar suspended

KOLKATA: Cooch Behar police superintendent Debasish Dhar was placed under suspension on Wednesday. He was replaced by S Kannan.
It is not clear whether any departmental inquiry has been ordered.
Dhar’s role in the immediate aftermath of the April 10 CISF firing in Cooch Behar’s Sitalkuchi — where four persons were killed — has been repeatedly questioned by Trinamool Congress and chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
Senior officials refused comment on the development.
It was alleged that Dhar, without a comprehensive probe, had give a clean chit to central forces, saying they had fired in self-defence when their weapons were being snatched during polling. The CID is investigating the incident.
The Calcutta High Court is hearing several PILs that have pleaded for a court-monitored probe in the circumstances leading to the deaths. Initial autopsy reports had indicated that most victims had bullet injuries in their upper body, and in one case gunshot wounds were also found on the back, according to sources.
On Wednesday, Assam BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma posted several photographs on Twitter claiming 21 BJP workers had fled Cooch Behar to Assam after being attacked.
A Trinamool worker was killed, said senior TMC leader Rabindranath Ghosh.