‘Inshallah’: How remarks in UPSC video landed Bengal IPS officer Bushra Bano in soup

IPS officer Bushra Bano was transferred from Kharagpur to state armed police.

KOLKATA: A video by IPS officer Bushra Bano, in which she spoke about her UPSC journey and referred to Aligarh Muslim University’s Residential Coaching Academy, has drawn criticism on social media, days before she was transferred from her post as additional SP of Kharagpur.Bano, a 2021-batch IPS officer, was transferred on Monday as deputy commandant of the state armed police.In the video posted on September 13, Bano spoke about how AMU’s Residential Coaching Academy helped her prepare for the UPSC examination. She began the video with “Assalamualaikum”, used “Inshallah” while speaking about her journey and ended with “Jazakallah”.The video subsequently drew criticism from several users on X, who questioned why she had not used expressions such as “Jai Hind” or “Vande Mataram”.

The X handle Hindu Legal Fund claimed it had complained to the Bengal home secretary over the video. In its complaint, the handle alleged that a serving officer representing the Indian state should maintain neutrality in public communication and use national expressions.Bano’s transfer order did not publicly cite the video or the social media criticism as the reason for the move.As part of the reshuffle, Partha Ghosh was appointed additional SP of Kharagpur, while Subhendu Mondal was transferred as additional deputy commissioner of Chandannagar Police Commissionerate.