‘Police will pull trigger if needed’: Dilip

Midnapore: Police officers will “draw their weapons and pull the trigger if necessary,” warned Bengal panchayat minister Dilip Ghosh on Sunday while saying that cops had been given a free hand to act against criminals.Speaking at the inauguration of a party office in Ward No. 2 of Kharagpur, Ghosh, the MLA of Kharagpur Town, asserted that no mafia or gangster will be allowed to operate in the area. He noted that individuals entering Kharagpur to cause disruption will face direct police action, including encounters if circumstances warrant, as seen in Baruipur.Ghosh said police excesses were preferable to unchecked criminal activity. He added that law enforcement has been instructed to act professionally, without functioning as party cadres, and that over 200 individuals involved in the drug trade have already been detained.According to Ghosh, criminal networks operated with political backing and police inaction in the past, causing local businesses to operate under fear. He said that the administration has begun shutting down illegal operations, drug syndicates, and extortion to restore order in Kharagpur.