Notice issued to two senior police officials after Mamata’s convoy gets held up

Director-General and Inspector-General of Police Neelamani Raju issued a show-cause notice to two senior police officials on Thursday after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s convoy was stuck at Chalukya Circle while she was on her way to the swearing-in ceremony of H.D. Kumaraswamy on Wednesday. “Her convoy got stuck at a signal at Chalukya Circle and was held up to make way for Governor Vajubhai R. Vala’s convoy, which was also headed towards Vidhana Soudha,” a senior police officer said. Mr. Kumaraswamy also sought an explanation from Ms. Raju on the incident. Upset by the incident, Ms. Mamata is said to have set off in a huff, to the grand steps of the Vidhana Soudha.

A senior traffic official said the movement of VVIPs and VIPs was hectic and unprecedented as there were 18 to 20 convoys. The convoys of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati and a few others were also reportedly caught in the jam. “No one was entitled to zero-traffic, except the Governor and the new Chief Minister,” the official said, adding that the police could not ensure free movement to all of them. “Many of the convoys were stuck among other vehicles. We were not in a position to do anything about it. To make matters worse, it was raining heavily,” he added.

When Ms. Mamata’s convoy halted, she got out of the vehicle and started walking towards the venue taking the road adjacent to Legislators’ Homes and via the back gate of Vidhana Soudha, ignoring security protocol, the police officer added. Police sources said her vehicle even ignored the security protocol of following the convoy line and took a short-cut.