The Diamond Harbour Police in South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Mitun Kumar Dey, a former senior police officer widely regarded as a close associate of All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary and three-time Lok Sabha member Abhishek Banerjee, during the previous Mamata Banerjee-led state government. The complaint was filed by Dr Tamal Kumar Haldar, a TMC councillor from Diamond Harbour Municipality, on 19 June.

What the Complaint Alleges

According to the FIR, Dr Haldar alleged that he was subjected to severe physical torture by Dey when Dey was serving as the Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of Diamond Harbour — after Haldar had gone to the police station to register a complaint. In his written complaint, Haldar claimed that Dey allegedly stripped him and beat him severely, and also reportedly administered electric shocks. Haldar further alleged that a media person attempting to cover the incident was also tortured by Dey.

Sources within the Diamond Harbour Police District confirmed that Dey will be called in for questioning by the investigating officers on the basis of the registered complaint.

Dey's Career and Transfers

Dey rose through the ranks from SDPO of Diamond Harbour to Additional Superintendent of the Diamond Harbour Police District. Prior to the state Assembly elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) transferred him to the post of Superintendent of Railway Police, Kharagpur, in West Midnapore district — a move widely seen at the time as an election-period reshuffle.

Earlier Complaint by Former MLA Giasuddin Molla

This is not the first time Dey has faced formal allegations. Last month, Giasuddin Molla — a former three-time TMC legislator from Magrahat (Paschim) Assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas and a former cabinet minister in the Mamata Banerjee government — filed a police complaint naming both Abhishek Banerjee and Dey. In that complaint, Molla alleged that Dey had taken punitive action against local TMC leaders and workers who were unwilling to accept what Molla described as Abhishek Banerjee's autocratic style of party management.

'A Trinamool Congress worker was severely beaten by Mitun Kumar Dey. He tortured the party workers physically and mentally inside the police station. As the then party legislator, I protested. But it did not work out. On the contrary, Mitun Kumar Dey scolded me and came running to beat me with his baton. I informed both Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee about this. But there was no solution,' Molla said in his complaint.

Molla also alleged that Abhishek Banerjee was aware of Dey's conduct and that the actions were carried out on Banerjee's instructions — a charge that has not been independently verified and which the TMC leadership has not publicly responded to.

Political and Legal Context

The complaints against Dey come amid a broader churn within the TMC, with several former loyalists publicly airing grievances against the party's inner circle. Notably, both complainants — Haldar and Molla — are themselves TMC-affiliated figures, lending the allegations an intra-party dimension that goes beyond a simple police misconduct case. The FIR marks a formal escalation, moving the matter from political complaint to criminal investigation territory. How far the probe advances — particularly given Dey's alleged proximity to a senior TMC figure — will be closely watched.