Kolkata: A Muslim IPS officer in West Bengal has been transferred within weeks of taking charge after a right-wing group objected to her use of Islamic greetings in a motivational video for civil services aspirants, even as the state government describes the move as routine and in “public interest”.
The officer, Dr Bushra Bano, 2021-batch IPS, was serving as Additional Superintendent of Police in Kharagpur when an order dated September 14 shifted her to Deputy Commandant of the 4th Battalion of the State Armed Police.
The notification offers no detailed justification beyond the standard “public interest” clause, but the timing has drawn sharp scrutiny because it follows a complaint over phrases such as “Assalam Alaikum” and “Inshallah” in her social media post.
Video, Complaint And Transfer
In the video, now removed from her channel but widely shared, Bano narrates her UPSC journey and acknowledges the role of the Residential Coaching Academy (RCA) at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). She begins with the Islamic greeting “Assalam Alaikum” (peace be upon you) and later says: “I am sharing this with you all so that other people benefit from it.”
She praises the government-run coaching centre at AMU for helping minorities, women and SC/ST students, adding: “I urge more students to enroll at such centres. I am sure that more students will benefit from these coaching centres and Inshallah [God Willing] will qualify competitive exams so that they can serve the country.”
Right-wing social media accounts mounted a campaign against her, criticising her use of Islamic greetings, as reported by NDTV. They claimed: “A serving officer representing the Indian state should maintain neutrality and use national expressions in public communication.”
Opposition Alleges Bias In Transfer
Opposition leaders have questioned whether the transfer amounts to punishment for using religiously coloured but constitutionally harmless expressions.
Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi urged the IPS Association to take note of the matter, posting on X: “Instead of standing by her, the state government transferred her the very next day. What kind of India are you building, Modi ji?”
TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh separated the demand for official neutrality from an officer’s personal way of speaking, saying: “The government has the right to decide on transfers. But if someone has not uttered any unparliamentary or unconstitutional word, and has only spoken based on their own habits and personal beliefs, if any comment or word came out of their mouth based on that, they should not be punished for it.”
