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Soumen Mitra (born 16 December 1961) is an Indian police Service officer of the 1988 batch[2] and was allotted the West Bengal cadre. He was the 38th Police Commissioner of Kolkata. Mitra started his police career as a probationary officer in Darjeeling. After his probationary period , Mitra served as ASP (Operations) Darjeeling, SDPO Barrackpore with additional charge as ADC to the Governor of West Bengal, Addl. SP Murshidabad, Addl. SP Asansol, Dy Commissioner of Police (Special), Detective Department Kolkata Police, SP Murshidabad, SC Nort Division, Kolkata, SP Howrah, Dy Commissioner of Police, Detective Department Kolkata Police, Jt CP (Organisation) Kolkata Police, DIG CID, DIG Presidency Range, IGP CID, Addl. CP Kolkata Police with additional charge as MD Kolkata Police Housing & Infrastructure Development Corp Ltd., Spl CP Kolkata Police, ADG CID, Commissioner of Police Kolkata, ADG Training Branch with additional charge as Advisor, WBSEDCL & Director WBPH&IDCL. and again Commissioner of Police Kolkata. AS DC DD he led investigations into the 2002 attack on the American Culture Centre by terrorists and in the 2001 Kolkata Stock Exchange scam.
Soumen Mitra | |
|---|---|
| 38th Police Commissioner of Kolkata | |
| In office 8 February 2021 – 31 December 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Anuj Sharma |
| Succeeded by | Vineet Kumar Goyal |
| In office 13 April 2016 – 21 May 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Rajeev Kumar |
| Succeeded by | Rajeev Kumar |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 December 1961 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Education | |
| Alma mater | |
| Police career | |
| Service | Indian Police Service |
| Department | West Bengal Police Kolkata Police |
| Service years | 1988–2021 |
| Status | Retired |
| Badge no. | 19881066[1] |
| Awards |  President's Police Medal (for Distinguished Service)  Police Medal for Meritorious Service  50th Anniversary Independence Medal |
Mitra served as Police Commissioner of Kolkata twice, first appointed by the Election Commission of India in 2016 during the West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections and secondly appointed by the Government of West Bengal in 2021. He received huge accolades from the media and common people for conducting free & fair elections in Kolkata without any violence during his tenures as CP in the two Assembly Elections of 2016 and 2021[3]. Mitra retired on 31 December 2021 as CP Kolkata. Post superannuation, Government of West Bengal appointed him as Director, Training of WBP for 2 years[4]. He is the recipient of the Indian Police Medal for Meritorious Service, the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service[5], the Chief Minister’s Police Medal for Outstanding Service[6] and the Anirudh Bhargava INTACH Environmental Award[7]. He is also known for his keen interest in heritage conservation, having helped restore several historical structures of Kolkata Police and West Bengal Police.
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Born in 1961,[8] Mitra was educated at St. Xavier's Collegiate School, Kolkata, Presidency College, Kolkata and Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, completing his Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts and Master of Philosophy. 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.[9] 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.[10] 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, an annual social event in Hariharpara, an area known for its communal violence, which helped stabilize the atmosphere.[11]
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 2002[12][13] and helped investigate the Kolkata Stock Exchange scam perpetrated in 2001.[14][15][16] Later, he was also put in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department of the West Bengal Police.[10][17]
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.[18][19] Mitra who perceived to be a rival of Kumar, cracked down on poll violence, and was credited with ensuring a smooth election.[20][21] 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 Additional Director General of Police, Training Branch.[22]
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.[23][24] In August 2021, Mitra received the Police Medal for outstanding service to the West Bengal government.[25] Mitra continued being the police commissioner after the conclusion of the elections until he retired from the Indian Police Service in December 2021.[26]
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Mitra is known in the police force for his interest in heritage structures.[27] 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.[28] In 2015, he helped restore the Police Training School which had previously served as one of India's first mental asylum and was considered iconic due to its unique architecture style that was pioneered by Jeremy Benthlam in the 18th century.[29][30]
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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.[20]
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.[20][31]
Soumen Mitra is married and resides in Kolkata. His wife, Monabi Mitra, is a professor of English and a crime novelist.[32]
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