The Suvendu Adhikari-led BJP in West Bengal has formed two commissions to probe allegations of institutional corruption and crimes against women during the previous All India Trinamool Congress government. In one of these commissions, senior IPS officer Damayanti Sen, who was sidelined after the famous Park Street rape case of 2012, has been assigned an important role.
Shubhendu Adhikari announced that the commission to investigate atrocities against women and children belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and minority communities will be headed by retired Justice Nirman Chatterjee, while Damayanti Sen has been appointed as Member Secretary of the Commission. The decision marks a significant comeback for Sen, a 1996 batch IPS officer who came into limelight during the Park Street rape case in 2012. At that time she was working as Assistant Commissioner (Crime) in Kolkata Police and was the first woman officer to hold this post.
On 6 February 2012, a woman had alleged that she was gang-raped in a moving car after she came out of a nightclub in the Park Street area of Kolkata. This matter soon turned into a major political controversy. Amid growing public anger, the then Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had described this incident as a fabricated story to defame her newly elected government. Following this statement, there was criticism across the country, protests by women’s rights organizations and a heated political debate broke out regarding the investigation of the case.
Amidst the political controversy, the investigating officers under the leadership of Damayanti Sen continued investigating the case and located the accused within a few days. The investigation confirmed the attack, making police findings inconsistent with the political rhetoric of the time. Soon after the case came to light, Sen was transferred from the Crime Branch at Lalbazar to Barrackpore Police Training College. Although it was officially described as a routine administrative procedure, controversy arose over its timing. The opposition and critics questioned whether he was sidelined because he pursued the investigation contrary to the government’s public position.
The state government never acknowledged any official link between the investigation and the transfer. Despite this, this matter remained a part of the political and administrative discussions of Bengal for years. Despite her educational qualifications and reputation in the police service, many observers believed that Damayanti Sen was kept away from politically sensitive responsibilities during the Trinamool Congress rule. He later worked as a Special Commissioner in the Kolkata Police, but was rarely placed at the center of any major investigative operation.
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