Kolkata: Calcutta High Court on Tuesday asked Bengal govt “what was the immediate urgency” when informed that Trinamool general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s security was downgraded from Z-plus to X category on May 10, within 24 hours of the new BJP govt taking office.Banerjee’s counsel Gopal Sankaranarayanan informed the court that following the security downgrade to X category — which allows for only two personal security officers (PSOs) — the MP was attacked four times.Sankaranarayanan said on May 30, Banerjee was attacked with stones and eggs. On June 19, an assailant carrying a gun confronted him at Kolkata airport upon his arrival from Delhi. Subsequently, his Amtala office was demolished during an attack on July 18 and his Camac Street office was vandalised on Sept 3. Banerjee reported these attacks to state govt on Sept 29, he claimed, but no action was taken.At this point, Justice Krishna Rao asked Bengal govt: “The order to downgrade the security was taken on May 12. According to the petitioner, it was withdrawn on May 10. Moreover, a (security) review meeting was held on May 29. The incidents took place after that. The petitioner has informed you — what (security) review did you conduct?”“Is stone-pelting a minor incident? Had a stone hit his body, what would have happened? The state has to take precautions,” the judge remarked, scheduling the next hearing for Oct 13 and directing the state to file a detailed report addressing the queries raised.Banerjee, who was assigned Z-plus security in 2016, argued that he was never informed why his security cover was downgraded and that his representations to Bengal govt citing safety threats were ignored.Centre informed the HC that law and order — and consequently security assessments — falls under the state’s domain. It noted that Banerjee was not leader of the opposition in Bengal, though his Z-plus security detail remained active in all other states. Centre added that its national threat assessment for Banerjee relied primarily on inputs from Bengal govt.State govt countered that Kolkata Police on May 12 and the Directorate of Security on May 29 conducted two separate reviews and concluded that Banerjee’s current threat level corresponded to X category security in Bengal, justifying the scale-down.When the judge requested a detailed report, the state initially sought a three-week adjournment, prompting Justice Rao to say: “Take three weeks, but restore his Z-plus cover until then. Who will take responsibility?”
