Kolkata: West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose has announced that he will be hitting the streets of Kolkata without any security cover on Friday, ignoring a death-threat email sent to his office sometime on Thursday night.
After the email came of the notice of the Lok Bhavan (earlier Raj Bhavan) staff, the matter was informed to the office of the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, and a decision was taken to overhaul the Governor’s security. However, despite these initiatives to enhance his security arrangement, the Governor has announced that he would walk on the streets of Kolkata on Friday without his personal security cover.
An insider from Lok Bhavan said the Governor had told his confidants that he is not worried at all following the threat email, since he is confident that the people of West Bengal are there to protect him.
The Governor is entitled to Z plus category security, which is managed jointly by the officers and personnel of both the Kolkata Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
“This is not the first time that the Governor has received similar threats. His security arrangement cannot be compromised. Hence, discussions on overhauling the security arrangement both at Lok Bhavan and while on any official tour,” a Lok Bhavan insider said.
He also said that an emergency review meeting on the proposed overhauling of the Governor’s security arrangement was conducted on Thursday midnight only. “The current security arrangements at Lok Bhavan were reviewed, and suggestions were given on the requirements for the security overhauling purpose,” the Lok Bhavan insider said.
However, so far, there has not been any official statement from the office of the Governor on the matter. Incidentally, the Governor’s decision to walk on Kolkata Streets on Friday without security will coincide with the mega rally to be led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in South Kolkata.
The CM will protest against the simultaneous raid and search operations by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on Thursday at the office of the India Political Action Committee at Salt Lake on the northern outskirts of Kolkata and at the residence of I-PAC co-founder Pratik Jain at Loudon Street in central Kolkata.
Although the exact time when the Governor will walk on the streets of Kolkata and which route he will follow is yet to be notified from his office, the time of the Trinamool Congress rally is 2 p.m.
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