Now,RPF,police on collision course in Didi’s Bengal

It is not clear whether the RPF raiding party was accompanied by the local police or not. According to a version,the RPF party,on directions from RPF’s chief security commissioner S C Sahu,was conducting the operation without taking the local police into confidence. Sahu,however,said,“Our party was accompanied by the local police. But they left midway.” He added that the RPF raiding party had recovered stolen rails worth Rs 4 lakh during the raid.

As the word about the crisis reached the Railways Minister,she is learnt to have immediately contacted the Centre for help,arguing that personnel of a Central force were being kept hostage by the Left sympathisers with the connivance of the local police. Several Trinamool MPs,including MoS Shipping Mukul Roy made frantic late night calls to authorities in both the Centre and the Bengal government.

Finally,a series of phone calls from top officials in Delhi led to the release of the RPF personnel in the wee hours on Sunday. But not before the RPF was made to release two of the accused.

However,it soon emerged that the local police had booked RPF personnel,including CSC Sahu,two assistant security commissioners and inspector R K Mishra,for “criminal trespass”. Sources said some of the other sections under which the RPF men have been booked relate to beating up a watchman and planting stolen material on the premises that were raided.

Even as the role of the Bengal police in the episode is under the scanner,sources said even the RPF was going “overboard” in conducting raids. “Many of these raids are apparently being conducted just to please the Railways Minister,” a source said.