EC removes West Bengal Chief Secretary, DGP ahead of assembly polls

Kolkata/New Delhi: In an unprecedented move in the administrative history of West Bengal, the Election Commission of India has removed several top bureaucratic and police officials, including the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police, ahead of the Assembly elections.

The decision to reshuffle the state’s top administrative and police leadership was taken within hours of the announcement of the poll schedule on Sunday.

In its first order issued late Sunday evening, the Commission removed Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty and Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena. In another order dated March 16, the poll panel also transferred DGP Peeyush Pandey and Supratim Sarkar, the Commissioner of Kolkata Police, who were among four senior IPS officers replaced ahead of the elections.

The Commission appointed Dushyant Nariala, a 1993-batch IAS officer currently serving as Additional Chief Secretary in the North Bengal Development Department, as the new Chief Secretary of the state.

Sanghamitra Ghosh, a 1997-batch IAS officer and secretary in the Women and Child Development Department, has been appointed as the new Home Secretary.

Senior IPS officer Siddh Nath Gupta (1992 batch) has been named the new Director General of Police, while Ajay Kumar Nand (IPS-1996) has been appointed Commissioner of Kolkata Police. Nand was previously serving as ADG of the Counter Insurgency Force.

The Commission also replaced ADG (Law and Order) Vineet Goyal with Ajay Mukund Ranade (IPS-1995). Meanwhile, Natarajan Ramesh Babu (IPS-1991) has been appointed Director General of Correctional Services, replacing Siddh Nath Gupta, who held the post earlier.

The poll panel directed that the orders be implemented immediately and asked for a report confirming that all the officers had taken charge of their new posts by 3 pm on Monday.

"...the officers transferred out shall not be posted in any election-related posts till the completion of elections," the communications, signed by commission secretary Sujeet Kr Mishra, said.

A senior Commission official told PTI, “Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, in his press conference on Sunday, had assured that elections in West Bengal would be violence-free and peaceful. In pursuance of this objective, the ECI has transferred senior police officials of West Bengal, including the DGP and the Kolkata Police commissioner.”

The move follows the Commission’s full bench visit to Kolkata last week to assess poll preparedness in the state. During the visit, Kumar reportedly reprimanded Vineet Goyal and questioned the absence of a Narcotics Advisory Committee in the state.

Kumar said the Commission had instructed officials to enforce the law strictly without bias.

“We have reviewed the law and order condition in the state and the entire government, led by its chief secretary, the DGP, the CPs and SPs, has assured the commission that the election will remain free of violence and intimidation,” the CEC had said.

He also made it clear that officials must operate strictly within the law and the Constitution during the election process.

“All officials must work within the purview of law, constitutional provisions and EC’s instructions. Any slackness in that regard will result in strict disciplinary action,” he said.

The reshuffle comes amid continued criticism by the Trinamool Congress government led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the ongoing SIR exercise in the state.

The Assembly elections in West Bengal will be held on April 23 and April 29, with counting scheduled for May 4.