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Soumen Mitra

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Soumen Mitra
File:Soumen Mitra, IPS.jpgMitra as Commissioner of Police, 2021
38th Police Commissioner of Kolkata
In office
8 February 2021 – 31 December 2021
Preceded byAnuj Sharma, IPS
Succeeded byVineet Kumar Goyal
In office
13 April 2016 – 21 May 2016
Preceded byRajeev Kumar, IPS
Succeeded byRajeev Kumar, IPS
Personal details
Born (1961-12-16) 16 December 1961 (age 63)
Calcutta, West Bengal, India
EducationB.A., M.A., M.Phil.
Alma mater
Police career
ServiceIndian Police Service
DepartmentWest Bengal Police Kolkata Police
Service years1988 - present
StatusActive
Rank Director General of Police
Badge no.19881066
Awards President's Police Medal (for Distinguished Service)
Police Medal for Meritorious Service
50th Anniversary Independence Medal

Soumen Mitra (born 16 December 1961) is an Indian police officer, who served as the 43rd Police Commissioner of Kolkata on 8 February 2021. Being an IPS officer, he was at 1988 cadre of IPS service from West Bengal.

Early life and career

Born in 1961 in Kolkata, Mitra was educated at St. Xavier's Collegiate School, Kolkata, Presidency College, Kolkata and Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, completing his BA, MA and M.Phil. A history graduate, he qualified for the Civil Services examinations and was inducted into the Indian Police Service, belonging to the 1988-batch in the West Bengal cadre. Initially, he started out as a probation officer in Darjeeling before being appointed the assistant commissioner of police operations in Darjeeling. Subsequently, Mitra went on to hold other roles, acting as a police superintendent under the West Bengal Police in Barrackpore, Howrah and Murshidabad. During this time, he developed a reputation for starting welfare and development projects in areas where he was posted. He is credited to have started the Chandradeep Mela in Hariharpara, a area known for it's communal violence which helped stabilize the atmosphere.

Mitra was transferred to the Kolkata Police to serve as a deputy commissioner for the detective department. He helped lead the police team in investigating the attack on the American Culture Centre in Kolkata in 2002and helped investigate the Calcutta Stock Exchange scam perpetrated in 2001. Later, he was also put in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department of the West Bengal Police.

Police Commissioner (2016)

In the run up to the 2016 Assembly Elections in West Bengal, Mitra was appointed the Commissioner of the Kolkata Police by the Election Commission of India despite opposition from the incumbent Trinamool Congress government on 13 April 2016. Mitra's predecessor, Rajeev Kumar was seen as biased towards the ruling party and the other parties contesting the elections had filed petitions to the Election Commission alleging mismanagement of the elections due to rampant incidents of poll violence targeted at members of those parties. Mitra who perceived to be a rival of Kumar, cracked down on poll violence, and was credited with ensuring a smooth election. Subsequently, after the Trinamool government came back to power with a landslide victory, Soumen Mitra was removed from his post as Police Commissioner and was appointed as the Assistant Deputy General of Training.

Police Commissioner (2021)

In February 2021, Mitra was again appointed as the Police Commissioner of the Kolkata Police in the period prior to the 2021 Assembly Elections in West Bengal by Mamata Banerjee on the recommendation of the Election Commission. In August 2021, Mitra received the Police Medal for outstanding service to the West Bengal government. Mitra continued being the police commissioner after the conclusion of the elections until he retired from the Indian Police Service in December 2021.

Other interests

Mitra is known in the police force for his interest in heritage structures. In 2004, Mitra helped rescue and restore a dilapidated building on Ripon Street which was occupied by Ramendra Narayan Roy (popularly known as the Sanyasi Raja) when he was fighting his legal battles in the Bhawal case. In 2015, he helped restore the Police Training School which had previously served as one India's first mental asylum and was considered iconic due to it's unique architecture style that was pioneered by Jeremy Benthlam in the 18th century.

His restoration and repair of Government House, Barrackpore, the previous residence of the Governors-General of British India, was awarded the Heritage Conservation Award 2018-19 by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).

Literary works

Mitra's M Phil dissertation has been published as a book entitled In Search of an Identity: The History of Football in Colonial Calcutta, 1880–1950.

In 2019 he collaborated with his wife, Monabi Mitra, in writing Under The Banyan Tree: The Forgotten Story of Barrackpore Park, narrating the two hundred year-old history of Government House Barrackpore.

Personal life

Soumen Mitra is married and resides in Kolkata. His wife, Monabi Mitra, is a professor of English and a crime novelist.

See also

References

  1. "Soumen Mitra takes charge as new Calcutta police commissioner".
  2. "IPS CIVIL LIST 2014". 2014.
  3. ^ MP, Team (7 February 2021). "Soumen Mitra becomes new Kolkata Police Commissioner". www.millenniumpost.in. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  4. Chaudhuri, Monalisa (7 February 2021). "Soumen Mitra returns as city police chief, replaces Anuj Sharma". The Telegraph (India). Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  5. "USIS attack: Police still puzzled about motive for attack on American Center in Kolkata". India Today. 4 February 2002. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  6. "Kolkata, Howrah, Salt Lake get new police commissioners ahead of assembly polls". Hindustan Times. 6 February 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  7. "Calcutta Stock Exchange scam prime accused held". The Times of India. 21 November 2002. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  8. "Former CSE president arrested". Rediff. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  9. "Calcutta Stock Exchange payment crisis: Lending brokers arrested but may be too late". India Today. 2 December 2002. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  10. PTI (13 April 2016). "Soumen Mitra Takes Over as Kolkata Police Commissioner". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  11. "'Bias' Kumar gets the boot". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 16 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  12. "Rajeev Kumar removed, Soumen Mitra new Kolkata CP". The Times of India. 12 April 2016. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  13. ^ Ganguly, Arnab (10 August 2021). "Police commissioner Soumen Mitra tops Mamata's I-Day medals list". The Telegraph (India). Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  14. "Last action hero: Why Kolkatans should be proud of police commissioner Soumen Mitra". Firstpost. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  15. "Rajeev Kumar reinstated as Kolkata Police chief after Mamata's return". The Indian Express. 22 May 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  16. Bhandari, Shashwat (9 September 2021). "Kolkata Police Commissioner Soumen Mitra promoted to DGP rank by Bengal government". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  17. IANS (11 August 2021). "Kolkata top cop Soumen Mitra selected for Police Medal". The Statesman. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  18. "Kolkata Top Cop, 2 Other IPS Officers To Get Medal For Outstanding Service". NDTV.com. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  19. "Vineet Kumar Goyal appointed new Kolkata Police commissioner". India Today. 31 December 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  20. Mitra, Soumen (24 August 2023). "Remembrances and revisitations: Restoring colonial buildings in Kolkata". The Telegraph (India). Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  21. "Sanyasi Raja house now a police hub". The Times of India. 25 January 2014. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  22. "Police training school restored to former glory". The Times of India. 26 January 2015. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  23. Chakrabarty, Saionee (12 January 2021). "Narayan Sinha's public art pays tribute to Kolkata". The Telegraph (India). Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  24. "হেরিটেজের 'লেগ্যাসি' রেখেই অবসরে সৌমেন". Eisamay (in Bengali). Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  25. "Heritage trust award for Kolkata police commissioner". The Times of India. 14 July 2021. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  26. Saha, Shrestha (28 November 2019). "Travelogues to read this week". The Telegraph (India). Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  27. Ghose, Chandrayee; Chauduri, Trina (29 December 2013). "Confessions of a crime writer". The Telegraph (India). Retrieved 15 July 2024.
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