West Bengal: Former IPS officer pens books, takes on Mamata
Nazrul Islam retired from service on February 28, 2014, after a running battle with Mamata Banerjee.
Former IPS officer Dr. Nazrul Islam during the inauguration of his book at Kolkata Press club on Tuesday. (Express photo by Partha Paul)
Nazrul Islam, a whistleblower IPS officer who retired in February 2014 from the West Bengal government, has come up with two new books. One of the books is titled ‘Her Dishonesty’ while the second one is ‘IPS Jiboner Upalabdhir Jantrana’ (The Agony of an IPS Officer’s Realisation). The first one is written in English while the second one is in Bengali.
‘Her Dishonesty’, once again is a compilation of Nazrul Islam’s experience as a police offier working under Mamata Banerjee in different capacity. As the book title suggests, Nazrul Islam has written about a series of his personal experiences while working under Mamata Banerjee once while she was the railway minister and again when Nazrul was called back to West Bengal after Mamata Banerjee became the chief minister, but allegedly was neglected and ignored till his retirement.
Dr. Nazrul Islam along with his wife Dr Kumud Gupta and children during the inauguration of his book at Kolkata Press club on Tuesday. (Express photo by Partha Paul)
In one of the episodes in ‘Her Dishonesty’, Nazrul has described how Mamata Banerjjee had reportedly given a verbal and written order to the officer to carry out some inquiries about top police officials on deputations in the railway ministry and some corruption cases. Once the inquiry was completed, Mamata Banerjee allegedly overlooked official procedures and the recommendations made on the basis of the findings of the inquiry. Instead of “dismissing” one officer on the basis of that report, he was given a reprieve by “an illegal release order” allegedly at the behest of then railway minister Mamata Banerjee, Nazrul writes.
“In other words, the officer was illegally and may be for extraneous considerations was released without the consent of the appropriate authority,” said Nazrul Islam. In this connection, the name of CBI director Ranjit Sinha has also come up at places, said Nazrul while talking to The Indian Express.
In the other book, the agony of an IPS officer, he has written about Left regime to Mamata Banerjee’s government at present under whom honest and sincere IPS officers have been humiliated and harassed and often made a subject of ridicule. The corrupt, the inefficient in the rank and file have flourished, he writes which was dangerous in two aspects, he felt. One, it impacted the democracy and two, it destroyed the rule of law.
Nazrul Islam retired from service on February 28, 2014, after a running battle with Mamata Banerjee for what he claimed was a deprivation of legitimate dues in terms of respect and dignity in service. Apart from taking to writings, Nazrul has also moved the court on several issues against the state government and its bureaucracy. A section of the bureaucrats in the government however, describe Nazrul’s crusade as one that was largely driven by his own “self-interest”.
Farooq Ahmed, editor of Udar Akash, editor of a magazine that deals with minority Muslim issues and a publisher, describe the two books as yet another bold step by Nazrul to expose the rot within and at the highest places. “During his service in the IPS, he had been a whistleblower throughout his career and now in his retired life, Nazrul has again taken up his fight,” said Ahmed. “His uncompromising stand is commendable,” he added.
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