The suspension was over allegations of “unprofessional conduct and negligence of duty.”
Mondal is one among several officers facing departmental inquiries by the state’s police and administrative departments. During their suspension period, an officer will receive half of the basic salary.
He was earlier transferred to another police station in the district but before he could join his new posting, he was suspended on the order of Asansol Police Commissioner Sunil Kumar Chowdhury. A departmental enquiry has also been initiated against him.
State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar, however, claimed that the S-I is merely a “scapegoat.”
Meanwhile, the CID has stepped up its crackdown on sand and coal smuggling, launching operations in several parts of the state.
Two local TMC leaders were on Friday arrested on charges of iron smuggling, officers said. They were identified as Rintu Panja, who is the TMC’s vice president, (Durgapur, block number 3) and Arvind Nandy, a former councilor .
On Thursday, the CM said she would reshuffle the CID (Criminal Investigation Department) of the state police. She had specifically pointed at certain sections of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the grassroots police force, suggesting their complicity in illegal businesses. She said strict action would be taken against any individual involved in such activities.
After chairing a meeting of top officials of her government on Thursday, the CM had said that stern action should be taken against those involved in corrupt practices “irrespective of their political colour”.
“Some lower-level officers, who do not like this government, including some police officers, are taking money and allowing theft in sand, coal, cement and stones… Why is the land department sitting idle? Why are they quiet? I had already asked them to call for tenders for sand and stone mining. In coal, the CISF is taking money and allowing theft,” the chief minister said at a press conference at Nabanna, the state secretariat.
“If there is a political person involved, catch him by his collar. The law must be applied to all without discrimination. Take action according to the law. I will not allow all this. I will not save anyone involved in corruption,” Banerjee asserted.
“I will completely reshuffle the CID, strengthen the STF (Special Task Force) and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB),” she added.
Her allegations in a press conference came after senior Trinamool Congress leaders such as MP Sougato Roy and Kolkata Municipal Corporation Mayor Firhad Hakim also questioned the police functioning in the wake of an alleged murder attempt on TMC councillor Sushanta Ghosh.
The CM on Thursday also said that if any TMC leader is involved in any corruption, they should be given “appropriate punishment”.
Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, meanwhile, called the developments in the wake of the CM’s remarks an “eyewash.” “It is just an eyewash to fool people,” claimed Chowdhury.