Bengal Govt reconstitutes Police Complaints Authority to address misconduct

The West Bengal government has reconstituted the state-level Police Complaints Authority to investigate allegations of serious misconduct against police personnel, including custodial deaths, grievous hurt, and rape, an official announced on Thursday.

Retired Justice Asim Kumar Roy will lead the authority. The panel will also include the home secretary, director general and inspector general of police, and the Kolkata police commissioner. This reconstitution was formalized in a notification issued on Wednesday.

According to the notification, "The authority will only take cognizance of and inquire into allegations of serious misconduct by police personnel, including custodial deaths, grievous hurt, or rape."

The authority will work in consultation with the West Bengal Human Rights Commission to develop its operational procedures. It will submit recommendations to the state government, which will generally be binding. If the state government cannot accept any recommendation, the reasons will be documented in writing and included in the annual report. Members of the authority will serve a term of three years.