Though reel and real-life are quite different, inspired by the good work of a Kalighat police station officer, noted film director Sujay Ghosh had made a flick ‘Kahaani’. The film portrayed feminism and motherhood in a male-dominated society.
The story had its settings in Kolkata during Durga Puja in which a woman Bidya Bagchi (played by Vidya Balan) comes to Kolkata to find her missing spouse.
A police officer Satyaki Rana Sinha, played by Parambrata Chatterjee, helped her accomplish the mission.
Famous for the Kalighat temple where millions come for a darshan of the deity, this is one of the key police stations of Kolkata. Kalighat police station not only keeps an eagle eye on law and order but also maintains good relations with the community.
As per the Hindu scriptures, the name Kolkata has been derived from Kalighat, as the vast bow-shaped land from Dakshineshwar to Behala was known Kalikeshtra.
The existing temple at Kalighat was built by the Saborno Raychaudhurys family, nearly 200 years ago. Thousands of people from different parts of the country as well as foreigners visit Kalighat Temple every day. The numbers swell during Durga Puja, Gangasagar Mela, Navaratri, Bipattarini Puja and Poila Boishakh.
The Kalighat temple is one of the 51 Shakti-peeths of the country. It is one of the most important religious places in eastern India, which draws millions of devotees throughout the year. Therefore, maintaining law & order is a major challenge for the Kalighat police station.
Kalighat was a Ghat (landing stage) sacred to Kali on the old course (Adi Ganga) of the Hooghly river (Bhagirathi) in the city of Kolkata. The river over a period of time moved away from the temple vicinity. It is now situated on the bank of a small canal called Adi Ganga which connects it to Hooghly.
Though the temple in its present form is about 200 years old, it has been referred to in Mansar Bhasan composed in the 15th century, and in Kavi Kankan Chandi of the 17th century.
The Kalighat police station takes extra care to make the temple premises hassle-free for devotees. Several CCTV cameras have been installed and police kiosks set up in front of the temple entrance for crowd control.
Policemen in civil dress are posted inside the sanctum sanctorum to manage crowd. Earlier, there used to be many cases of pick-pocketing but this menace has completely stopped after the deployment of police.
Celebrities also come here to offer puja in the wee hours. The temple opens from 4 am until 12 am. Kalighat is a hub of Durga puja as about 39 Durga and 75 Kali idols are installed under this police station. Apart from ensuring smooth vehicular traffic, managing crowd also becomes a priority. Police have also to ensure puja committees don’t encroach upon roads.
Being host to the prestigious assembly constituency of Kolkata region, Bhawanipur is represented by the Honourable Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee. Managing gridlock at Hazra More and Rashbihari street is a huge task for Kaligaht police. Three KMC wards 71, 72 and 83 come under this police station. With an area of 1.095 sq km, Kalighat Police station was formed in 1999. Earlier, it was part of the Bhawanipore police station.
During evening lots of people come to meet Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at her Kalighat residence for the redressal of their grievances. The officers from Kalighat police station extend 24X7 help to all of them as per the CM’s standing instructions. Every month two-three cases come up in which police have to take initiative and admit them to the hospital.
Santanu Sinha Biswas, the officer-in-charge of Kalighat PS said: “To tackle any law and order issue, safety and security of devotees, we go sleepless for several days.”
Since joining the force in 1989, Santanu has received several awards including Indian Police medal in 2015, Chief Minister’s police medal in 2016 and Prasansha Padak from former Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya in 2003. Presently he is the Chairman of Kolkata Police Co-operative Bank Ltd. According to the rule of this bank, earlier homeguards and civil policemen were not eligible for a loan but after becoming Chairman, Santanu ensured that all the policemen can avail of the loan facility from this bank.
Earlier Kalighat police had to grapple with unauthorized parking every day in the morning but as the police upped the ante this practice has stopped. Besides the residences of VIPs, this region also has a red light area. But the police have managed to curb the nuisance and sale of illicit liquor in the area.
Constant vigil, meticulous planning and strong connection with the temple’s managing committee, local people and local businessmen are keys to policing in the area.
Two years ago the cops of Kalighat police station did a remarkable job when they saved a middle-aged couple who were stabbed by sharp-edged weapons. Sarala Jain and Narendra Jain, residents of 48 Kali temple under Kalighat Police station were attacked at their house in February, 2017. The police not only nabbed one of the culprits but also saved the lives o the couple. At around 8:45 pm, the frightened teenaged daughter of the couple came running to the police for help.
The officer in charge rushed to the spot along with his colleagues. On reaching the crime scene, they found the couple lying in a pool of blood with the palm of Sarala lying severed. The police sent the duo to the hospital where the severed palm of the woman was attached and their lives were saved.
After taking over the charge of the police station, Biswas’s first priority was to reduce the pending cases which he has successfully reduced by one third.
He has taken steps for the management of crowd at the gates 1,2,3,4 and 5 of Kalighat temple. Recently, Kalighat police station has set up three kiosks near the temple where cops can patiently listen to the problems of devotees. Foreign tourists also take help from these kiosks during their visit to the temple. Recently, a 30 member team from Thailand and groups from Japan and Bangladesh had visited the temple and the police had made special arrangements for their visit.
As part of their social activity, they had recently arranged a blood donation camp. About 315 Pronam members live under Kalighat police station and the police had made special arrangements for their pandal visits puja. During the winter, a picnic has been planned for Pronam members.
