Syndicate raj under police scanner amid drive against illegal construction
Telegraph | 14 May 2026
The Kolkata Police commissioner has instructed all police stations to put a curb on illegal constructions, smuggling of illegal arms and the menace of syndicate raj.
Ajay Nand, the city’s police commissioner, held a meeting with the senior officers and the heads of all the units on Tuesday to discuss matters related to the law and order and crime and investigations.
The instructions came a day after chief minister Suvendu Adhikari held his first administrative meeting with the state’s police brass and gave a string of instructions over police related matters.
The message was passed on to the police force during Tuesday’s meeting at the Alipore Bodyguard lines.
Complaints against unauthorised constructions and syndicate raj — under the patronage of local goons and political leaders — had been two of the most peeving points that had marked the earlier regime. “Officers were asked to follow a zero-tolerance policy for both,” said an officer.
“It was told that specific cases should be started for complaints related to syndicates and proper action should be taken. Officers were also told to work on the basis of evidence and not presumptions,” said an officer.
It was said that all cases related to missing girl child must be reviewed by officers of the rank of officers in charge, assistant commissioner and deputy commissioners. Officers were also asked to lay emphasis on crime against women and safety of girl children.
The police were also told to keep the CCTV cameras updated and operational.
Cops were instructed that the restrictions related to use of loudspeakers should be adhered to as per the guidelines. “In case of religious events, the persons should be sensitised through meetings beforehand,” said an officer.
Seized arms
In a separate directive issued to all police commissionerates and district units, the state police asked officers to physically verify all arms and ammunition seized over the years and stored in police station malkhanas, and match them with register entries.
The police have been asked to complete the exercise within two weeks and submit the compiled data to the ADG CID.