Opposition reacts to IPS officer’s transfer in Bengal after right-wing group objects to ‘Inshallah’ in personal video
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Opposition reacts to IPS officer’s transfer in Bengal after right-wing group objects to ‘Inshallah’ in personal video")
IPS officer Dr Bushara Bano
The transfer triggered sharp political reactions as Congress leader Pawan Khera questioned what was offensive about words of blessing. TMC MP Mahua Moitra called the move absurd, pointing to a Parliament inaugurated with sadhus and a sengol.
A personal video about a career journey has spiralled into a political controversy in West Bengal, after IPS officer Dr Bushara Bano was transferred within hours of right-wing group's objecting to the Islamic greetings she used in it.
Bano, a 2021-batch officer, was serving as Additional Superintendent of Police in Kharagpur when she posted a YouTube video describing her path to the civil services — from returning from Saudi Arabia to preparing for the UPSC exam. She credited Aligarh Muslim University's Residential Coaching Academy for helping her succeed.
"After returning from Saudi Arabia, I started preparing for the UPSC examination… AMU's RCA helped me a lot," she said in the video.
The video drew swift backlash from a group calling itself Hindu Legal Fund, which said it had written to West Bengal Home Secretary Sanghamitra Ghosh objecting to Bano opening with "Assalamu Alaikum," using "Inshallah," and closing with "Jazak Allah" — instead of, it said, "Vande Mataram" or "Jai Hind."
"A serving officer representing the Indian state should maintain neutrality and use national expressions," the group posted on X.
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Within hours, the state government transferred Bano out of Kharagpur to the post of Deputy Commandant, SAP 4th Battalion, officially citing "public interest."
Two West Bengal Police Service officers were reshuffled in the same order. Bano declined to comment when contacted.
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The transfer triggered sharp political reactions. Congress leader Pawan Khera questioned what was offensive about words of blessing, arguing they reflected "patriotism... rooted in compassion, faith and goodwill — one that the bhakts will never understand."
TMC MP Mahua Moitra called the move absurd, pointing to a Parliament inaugurated with sadhus and a sengol. "For a country whose Prime Minister inaugurated the new Parliament with a sengol and bare-chested sadhus, transferring a Muslim IPS officer for saying Assalamu Alaikum and Inshallah is ridiculous. We are a nation gone mad, poisoned with hate and bigotry. God Save India," she wrote.
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TMC MP Sagarika Ghose posed a sharper question, asking if every Muslim officer in BJP-ruled Bengal must now undergo a "loyalty test," calling it a departure from Bengal's tradition of "civilised plurality and social harmony."
The state government has offered no explanation beyond the formal transfer order, framing it as routine and in public interest. But the timing — hours after a complaint over an officer's choice of words in a personal video unrelated to her policing record — has made that explanation difficult to sustain but Dr Bushara Bano herself has chosen not to comment.
