DIGHA — Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday defended a lethal police encounter in Raiganj involving a suspect accused in the rape and murder of a minor, insisting law enforcement acted strictly in self-defence after coming under direct attack.
Police shot the accused after officers were assaulted during the operation. Addressing reporters in Digha, Adhikari dismissed claims of extrajudicial excess, maintaining that officers acted within legal bounds.
"The police have taken action according to the circumstances," Adhikari said. "The police do not shoot all the accused. Those who attack the police, the police retaliate in self-defence."
Law enforcement now holds broader operational freedom. Adhikari confirmed his administration has granted field personnel unilateral clearance to discharge firearms in critical scenarios without awaiting clearance from higher ranks. The directive covers four key offenses: rape and murder, narcotics trafficking, drug smuggling, and illegal cross-border infiltration from Bangladesh.
"In some cases of this government, the government has left the police with open arms," Adhikari said. "I have not even asked them to take permission from their superiors. In cases of rape and murder, drug trafficking, smuggling of narcotics, and illegal infiltrators from Bangladesh, I have asked them to take a zero-tolerance policy in all these cases."
Beyond violent offenses and narcotics, the Chief Minister instructed district forces to clamp down on stone-pelting directed at religious gatherings, asserting that zero disruption had occurred at rallies, pujas, or immersion processions under his tenure. He paired the policy defense with an ideological assault on earlier state governments, accusing prior administrations of hollowing out cultural institutions.
"Thirty-four years of atheist communists and fifteen years of Jamati Trinamool destroyed the culture, scriptures, traditions, and traditions of West Bengal," Adhikari said. "We are trying to protect that."
Pushing back against scrutiny over custodial fatalities and human rights protocols, the Chief Minister insisted that state-issued sidearms carry a functional purpose during armed encounters.
"What do you think police should do when they are attacked? Should they feed them sweets?" Adhikari asked. "Police have full right to protect themselves. Their weapons are not just made to be kept in the pocket. Police were attacked so police have done whatever is right according to law."
District authorities are expected to submit mandatory administrative inquiry reports regarding the circumstances of the Raiganj encounter to the state home department.