Damayanti Sen, a 1996-batch IPS officer, came into prominence during the 2012 Park Street rape case, which snowballed into a major political controversy after a woman alleged she was gangraped inside a moving car after leaving a nightclub in Kolkata’s Park Street area.
Senior IPS officer Damayanti Sen, who was allegedly sidelined during the former Trinamool Congress regime in the wake of the controversial 2012 Park Street rape case, has been appointed by Bengal’s current BJP government to a commission probing crimes against women.
On Monday, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced Sen’s appointment as member secretary of a commission set up to examine atrocities against women and children, particularly from Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and minority communities, during the TMC’s 15-year rule.
The move marked a significant return to prominence for Sen, a 1996-batch IPS officer who rose to prominence during the Park Street rape case in 2012 under the then TMC government led by Mamata Banerjee.
At the time, Sen was serving as Joint Commissioner (Crime) of Kolkata Police and was the first woman officer to hold the post.
The Park Street case had erupted into a major political controversy after a woman alleged she was gang-raped inside a moving car after leaving a nightclub in Kolkata’s Park Street area on February 6, 2012.
As public outrage mounted, Banerjee had described the incident as a “sajano ghatana” (fabricated story) allegedly aimed at maligning her newly-elected government.
The remarks triggered nationwide criticism, protests by women’s rights groups and intense political debate over the handling of the case.
While the political controversy escalated, investigators under Sen proceeded with the probe and tracked down the accused within days.
The investigation established that the assault had taken place, placing the police findings at odds with the political narrative surrounding the case.
Soon after the case was cracked, Sen was transferred from the Crime Branch at Lalbazar to the Police Training College in Barrackpore.
Though officially described as a routine administrative move, the timing triggered political controversy, with opposition parties and critics questioning whether the officer had been sidelined for pursuing an investigation that contradicted the government’s public position.
No official link between the probe and the transfer was ever acknowledged by the state government. However, the episode remained part of Bengal’s political and bureaucratic discourse for years.
Despite her academic credentials and reputation within policing circles, many observers felt Sen remained away from politically sensitive assignments during much of the TMC tenure. Though she later served as Special Commissioner of Kolkata Police, she was rarely placed at the centre of high-profile investigations.
