Kolkata, Oct 28 West Bengal minister Agnimitra Paul has turned to poetry to underline her message on crime and public safety, amid a debate over the killing of two accused in separate alleged police encounters.
Titled ‘Encounter’, the Bengali poem calls for firmness against crime while placing public safety at the centre of the state’s responsibility.
“Let crime stop, let people live, let the darkness of fear recede,” Paul writes in the poem, asserting that those entrusted with people’s safety must repeatedly stand up against crime.
The poem comes after two men accused in separate cases — the rape and murder of a 17-year-old schoolgirl in North 24 Parganas and the killing of a BJP worker whose body was allegedly dismembered in Murshidabad — were killed in alleged encounters with law enforcement personnel, around 12 hours apart on Tuesday.
Police said the accused had snatched firearms from officers and opened fire during crime-scene reconstruction.
The incidents followed public outrage over the two crimes, with the murder of the BJP worker also prompting allegations of police negligence and the suspension of several officers.
Paul’s verses make a case for a tough response to crime, while acknowledging the difficult choices involved in law enforcement.
“There can be no bowing before injustice; firmness against crime is needed,” she writes, adding that circumstances can sometimes be difficult and the burden of decisions is not always easy.
Yet, the poem leaves little ambiguity about the priority she wants the state to uphold.
“The value of courage is no less; nothing is greater than people’s safety,” she writes, calling for the strength of the state to remain on the side of the people and for the return of peaceful mornings to every home.
The poem concludes with an emphatic call for resolve in tackling crime and no compromise on public safety.
The verses also fit into the BJP’s broader political messaging on policing under the new government led by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who holds the home portfolio.
The government has repeatedly projected a tougher approach to law and order, contrasting it with the previous TMC regime, which the BJP had accused of using the police for political purposes.
The two encounters have brought that message into sharp relief, even as the circumstances surrounding the shootings and the police version of events remain central to the investigations.
The fashion designer-turned-politician, who represents Asansol South, has written poetry on political and local issues before.
Her latest offering places the contentious issue of police encounters at the centre of her verses, framing the debate around justice, courage and the state’s duty to protect its citizens.
The poem, however, does not directly refer to either case or name the accused.
(PTI News)
