In a sweeping administrative overhaul ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, the Election Commission (EC) on Monday removed West Bengal’s Director General of Police (DGP) and the Commissioner of Police (CP), Kolkata, just hours after key bureaucratic changes were made in the state administration following the announcement of the poll schedule on Sunday.
According to the Commission’s directive, senior IPS officers SN Gupta and Ajay Nand were appointed as the new DGP and CP respectively. They replaced Piyush Pandey, who had been serving as the state DGP, and Supratim Sarkar, the outgoing Kolkata CP.
The EC instructed that the two officers assume charge by 3:00 PM on Monday.
In another significant change within the police hierarchy, Vineet Goyal was removed from the post of Additional Director General (Law and Order). Ajay Mukund Ranade has been appointed to the position in his place.
Administrative sources said that S.N. Gupta had earlier been considered a suitable candidate for the state’s top police post. His name had surfaced on multiple occasions in discussions regarding the DGP position, but the state secretariat, Nabanna, had not selected him for the role. Similarly, Ajay Nand, widely regarded as an officer known for integrity and dedication, had reportedly not been in the “good books” of Nabanna and had previously been assigned a comparatively less significant posting.
The police reshuffle came soon after the EC removed two of the state’s senior-most bureaucrats on Sunday. Nandini Chakravorty was relieved from the post of Chief Secretary, while Jagdish Prasad Meena was removed as the Home Secretary.
Acting on directions issued from the Commission’s headquarters, Nirvachan Sadan, the government appointed Dushyant Nariala, a 1993-batch IAS officer, as the new Chief Secretary of West Bengal. At the same time, senior IAS officer Sanghamitra Ghosh was appointed as the Home Secretary with the designation of Principal Secretary, Home and Hill Affairs.
In a letter sent on Sunday night from the Election Commission’s headquarters in New Delhi to then Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty, the Commission stated that the decision had been taken following a review of the state’s preparations for the forthcoming Assembly elections. The directive specified that the transfers must be implemented with immediate effect.
The Commission also instructed that a compliance report confirming whether the newly appointed officers had taken charge must be submitted by 3:00 PM on Monday.
The rapid sequence of transfers underscores the EC’s efforts to ensure administrative neutrality and maintain law and order in the state as it prepares for the Assembly polls.
Also read: ECI removes Bengal CS, HS hours after poll schedule
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