Former Commissioner of Calcutta Police, Gautam Mohan Chakraborty, headed the city police during the last term of Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee as chief minister, from October 2007 to March 2011. Chakraborty recalls his interactions with the late former chief minister which goes back to the late 1980s:
"The year must have been 1988 or 1989 when I met Buddhadeb babu for the first time. I had just been posted as the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) in Calcutta. During that time, there were weddings at banquets bang opposite the Modern High School for Girls which led to traffic jams.
"We decided we would clear the vehicles parked illegally and a drive was held. I was at the spot. It so happened that on that day Buddhadeb babu, on the way back to his Palm Avenue residence from Writers' Buildings, saw me and he thought I was helping out those who came to attend the weddings.
"Next day he called me to his office and I explained everything to him. It was a misunderstanding and when I cleared it up he appreciated our drive and said the citizens should not face any problem. That should be the priority of the Calcutta Police.
"After that we had many interactions over the years. He was a straight-forward person with zero tolerance for any form of corruption or complaints against any officer or even his own party members.
"As an administrator he gave us a free-hand and at the same time kept a close watch. He would never impose his or the party’s views on us. I remember before one of the elections, we were in a meeting and I asked him if he had any special instructions for the police? He looked at me and said, ‘You’ll do your work. You know what is the role and responsibility of the police during elections.'
"I know there were many senior officers against whom he had made inquiries and took action whenever required. On those grounds he would never compromise.
"When I went on deputation to CBI, he asked me why I was leaving. I told him as an IPS officer I had to go on deputation as this was the rule. He supported my decision and said I would be welcomed back when I return.
"He was extremely cultured, well-read but I have also hugely benefited from his professionalism, his words of advice. When I became Calcuta's Commissioner of Police, he told me that appointment of officers-in-charge was entirely my responsibility and if things go wrong I will be held responsible. At that time we had a committee of senior officers chaired by the CP which decided on posting of OCs. Not in the case of one officer did the chief minister make any interference or recommendation.
"My elder brother (Ashok Mohan Chakraborty) became the Home secretary after I became the CP, but that did not bring any change in our equations. His relationship with my elder brother as Home secretary (and later chief secretary) and with me as police chief were completely different. There was no preferential treatment.
"On the day when there was huge trouble at Park Circus over Taslima Nasreen, roads were blocked and we had to resort to lathi-charge at places, his single-point instruction was that the police should not open fire. It was the most sensible thing to do. Had the police opened fire that day the results would have been disastrous.
"Between 2007-2009, in many places across the country extremists groups were carrying out explosions. We had Durga Puja around the corner. At a meeting he asked us if we had taken any special steps. I told him about the security measures that we had taken. He said these are good, but we should set up watchtowers to keep an eye on the movements of the people on the ground and in case of suspicion act accordingly. His advice helped us a great deal in performing our duties.
"Whenever any complaint came against an officer or even one of his party members, he would ask us to enquire. Even if the complaint turned out to be false he never took any vindictive action."
