The clash between Kolkata Police and the Army over a traffic violation has taken on political overtones, coming just a day after soldiers dismantled a Trinamool Congress (TMC) protest stage.
On Tuesday morning, Kolkata Police intercepted an Indian Army truck near Writers’ Buildings for alleged reckless driving. According to the police, the vehicle suddenly swerved right from the extreme left lane, nearly colliding with Police Commissioner Manoj Verma’s convoy. CCTV footage released by the police showed the vehicle violating lane discipline twice in quick succession, prompting officials to stop it.
Police charged the driver under Section 184 of the Motor Vehicles Act for dangerous driving. The army truck was initially escorted toward a police station, but stopped midway when the personnel insisted on waiting for a senior officer. A colonel from Eastern Command later intervened, after which the vehicle was allowed to return to Fort William.
Kolkata Police insisted that the prosecution was a straightforward enforcement of traffic law, dismissing claims of political motives. They emphasized that “misinformation” was being spread about the action and maintained that the footage clearly showed traffic violations.
The episode, however, cannot be divorced from its timing. Just a day earlier, the Army had dismantled a TMC protest stage near the Gandhi Statue on Mayo Road, citing expired permissions. The removal triggered a sharp reaction from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who accused the BJP of using the Army as an instrument of political vendetta.
The proximity of the two incidents — one administrative and the other political — has heightened tensions in Kolkata. While the police frame Tuesday’s events as a case of dangerous driving, the broader backdrop of confrontation between the TMC, the BJP, and now the Army has given the matter a distinctly political edge.
