Bengal guv seeks performance report of state security advisers

Dhankhar, who has been at odds with the TMC government since assuming charge in Bengal, sought a report on the performance of state security advisor Surajit Kar Purakayastha and principal advisor, internal security, Rina Mitra. "Internal Security environment @MamataOfficial alarming with 'al-Qaeda' finding WB safe haven and free run for illegal bomb making.

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday said terror outfits such as al-Qaeda have found a haven in the state, and questioned the performance of security advisors in tackling threats. Dhankhar, who has been at odds with the TMC government since assuming charge in Bengal, sought a report on the performance of state security advisor Surajit Kar Purakayastha and principal advisor, internal security, Rina Mitra.

"Internal Security environment @MamataOfficial alarming with 'al-Qaeda' finding WB safe haven and free run for illegal bomb making. All this even after appointing retd IPS Surajit Kar Purkayastha as State Security Advisor and Rina Mitra, as Principal Advisor, Internal Security," he tweeted. The governor further said there was a need to "enforce accountability".

"Why not be transparent with performance of these super bosses @WBPolice and enforce accountability @MamataOfficial. Why delay sharing with Governor their duties and performance! Why all this with law & order getting beyond cliff hanging!" he wrote on his Twitter handle. Nine terrorists associated with a Pakistan-sponsored module of the al-Qaeda were arrested from various locations in West Bengal's Murshidabad and Kerala's Ernakulam by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) last month.

Purkayastha, a former DGP of West Bengal police, was appointed as the state security advisor on June 2018, after his retirement as the top boss of the state police. Mitra, who retired on January 2019 as special secretary (internal security) in the Union home ministry, took charge in Bengal in February last year.