Kolkata: Security in and around the residence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been tightened following two security breaches at her Kalighat house.
A few days ago, an unknown man breached the security fence and entered the Chief Minister's house. Then, a car with weapons tried to enter the lane of the CM's house. After these incidents, the security of the Chief Minister has been beefed up.
As a part of the drill, Kolkata Police engaged a dog squad for her protection. Two specially-trained dogs have been assigned a 24-hour duty for the West Bengal Chief Minister. Mamata, who loves to spend her leisure time with these two dogs, named two Labradors 'Strong' and 'Smile'.
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These two dogs stay with her round-the-clock. According to sources, both of them are well-trained to spot bombs or explosives in the vicinity. 'Strong' and 'Smile' have spent nearly a year training with special forces — the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
Lalbazar sources revealed if bombs or bomb materials are stored, they can smell them from a few kilometers away. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee enjoys Z-plus category protection.
Recently, two persons were arrested twice in Kalighat at Banerjee's house and outside with firearms and iron rods. These two incidents worried security personnel. Chief Minister's house at Kalighat buzzes with activities. People come with lists of their grievances almost every day.
Sometimes the party meeting is held at her Kalighat residence. A senior officer in charge of the intelligence department of the Kolkata Police said, "These dogs are trained to be more trustworthy than humans. That is why the responsibility of the security of the Chief Minister's house in Kalighat has been given to these two of them."
Read more: Man enters West Bengal CM's residence, held
After breaching tight security cordon around the Chief Minister's house, the man entered 34B Harish Chatterjee Street, scaled the walls, and entered her house. Allegedly, he stayed inside the premises of the Chief Minister's house all night without anybody knowing.
Security guards saw him in the morning and all were alerted subsequently. The police personnel who were responsible for the Chief Minister's security arrested the man. Later the cops of Kalighat police station took the person into custody. On July 21, the security guards on duty saw a black car standing in front of the house of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for a long time in the morning. Allegedly, that day the car was repeatedly trying to enter the lane of Mamata Banerjee's house. The cops on duty intercepted the car and found weapons packed inside the car.
The young man, who was inside the car, first introduced himself as a policeman. Later the person showed multiple I-cards to the police. Among those I-cards, one was said to be a Border Security Force I-card. Later investigation revealed that all identity cards were fake. The man was subsequently arrested.
