Calcutta’s police commissioner Soumen Mitra went around the city between 2am and 6am on Thursday in what several officers said was an unscheduled tour to take stock of the night curfew.

Police sources said Mitra travelled through Minto Park, Sarat Bose Road, Hazra Road, Taratala, Behala, EM Bypass and Patuli.

Several officers The Telegraph spoke to said the top cop had stepped out of his home unannounced, keeping the Lalbazar control room and the Lalbazar traffic control room in the dark.

As part of the protocol, the commissioner’s location and vehicular movement are communicated through secured channels to the respective traffic guards and police stations from Lalbazar.

“I came to know only in the morning. Many police stations and traffic guards lost track of his movement as his location was not aired,” said an officer at Lalbazar.

There was no statement on the cause of the top cop’s “night round”. Mitra did not respond to text messages from this newspaper.

Officers close to him said the top cop was possibly trying to check how effectively the curfew from 9pm to 5am, part of the measures announced by the state government to contain the spread of Covid, was being enforced.