IPS officer, sidelined by Mamata over Park Street rape, gets key role in BJP govt

The Suvendu Adhikari-led BJP government in Bengal has constituted two commissions to probe allegations of institutional corruption and crimes against women during the previous Trinamool Congress regime, appointing senior IPS officer Damayanti Sen, who was sidelined after the controversial 2012 Park Street rape case, to a key role in one of the panels.

On Monday, Adhikari announced that the commission examining atrocities against women and children, particularly from Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and minority communities, will be headed by retired Justice Samapti Chatterjee, with Sen appointed as member secretary.

The move marked a significant return to prominence for Sen, a 1996-batch IPS officer who rose to prominence during the Park Street rape case in 2012 under the then TMC government led by Mamata Banerjee.

At the time, Sen was serving as Joint Commissioner (Crime) of Kolkata Police and was the first woman officer to hold the post.

The Park Street case had erupted into a major political controversy after a woman alleged she was gang-raped inside a moving car after leaving a nightclub in Kolkata’s Park Street area on February 6, 2012.

As public outrage mounted, Banerjee had described the incident as a “sajano ghatana” (fabricated story) allegedly aimed at maligning her newly-elected government.

The remarks triggered nationwide criticism, protests by women’s rights groups and intense political debate over the handling of the case.

While the political controversy escalated, investigators under Sen proceeded with the probe and tracked down the accused within days.

The investigation established that the assault had taken place, placing the police findings at odds with the political narrative surrounding the case.

Soon after the case was cracked, Sen was transferred from the Crime Branch at Lalbazar to the Police Training College in Barrackpore.

Though officially described as a routine administrative move, the timing triggered political controversy, with opposition parties and critics questioning whether the officer had been sidelined for pursuing an investigation that contradicted the government’s public position.

No official link between the probe and the transfer was ever acknowledged by the state government. However, the episode remained part of Bengal’s political and bureaucratic discourse for years.

Despite her academic credentials and reputation within policing circles, many observers felt Sen remained away from politically sensitive assignments during much of the TMC tenure. Though she later served as Special Commissioner of Kolkata Police, she was rarely placed at the centre of high-profile investigations.

In 2022, the Calcutta High Court entrusted Sen with investigating four rape cases and the widely discussed Rasika Jain death case, a move that was seen in administrative circles as a sign of judicial confidence in her investigative abilities. She was later posted as Additional Director General (Training) in 2023.

According to the ruling BJP government, the commission headed by Justice Chatterjee will examine cases including Sandeshkhali, Kasba, Bogtui and other alleged incidents of crimes against women and children during the previous regime.

- Ends

(With PTI inputs)