Kolkata police plan strict evaluation of field officers’ mental state before assigning weapons

KOLKATA: The Kolkata Police is planning to carry out more stringent evaluation of field officers before allowing them to carry weapons. “The incident on Friday where 28-year-old Kolkata Armed Police constable Chodup Lepcha on his first day of duty outside the Bangladesh deputy high commission near Park Circus opened indiscriminate fire from his SLR, killing a 28-year-old woman and injuring two others, has taught us a lesson. We will need to rethink about mental health in the long term,” said an officer.
Cops said that while most constables can return home once a month, those staying in north Bengal (like Lepcha) are allowed longer breaks lasting at least 10 days. “We already have a strict policy where alcoholic colleagues are not assigned weapons. Now, we plan to carry out periodic evaluation of mental state. We will ask our officers to learn more about the family needs and requirements of the lower constabulary,” stated a senior officer in the armed unit.
The investigators, meanwhile, spoke to the family members of Lepcha on Saturday and his colleagues who shared the barrack with him upon his return on Thursday. “His brother and sister-in-law stated that they have not heard or seen anything abnormal from Lepcha. They stated that he was jovial at home and even promised his sister-in-law that he would marry the next time he came home on leave. Back at the barrack, he was normal though he did not initiate any conversation with colleagues. He had also reported to work on time making it difficult to pinpoint on any cause that might have triggered him to act the way he did,” stated an officer leading the investigations.
The cops said they are probing an incident that took place with Lepcha soon after he went for a raid after completing training in February earlier this year. “The media is projecting something, but it needs further collaboration before it can be established,” said an officer.
The cops have now come across more definitive footage that clearly shows what transpired on Friday. While earlier CCTV footage shows the bike stopping in front of Lepcha, who crouches for a while and then shoots at them from behind as the bike desperately swerves into a right lane, the fresh one shows how of the bullets hit Rima, who fell off the bike while Bashir was hit on the arm.
Cops said they are also investigating the call details of Lepcha and whether he made any last call before the incident. “We are also looking at his shooting prowess — since he was inducted in the STF and later armed police from his parent traffic cadre. This is important since no trained cop crouches before shooting,” said an officer.