Kolkata: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday justified the transfer of four senior cops in the state, stating that the poll panel had already appointed a special observer to ensure free and fair Lok Sabha polls.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday wrote to the ECI condemning the transfer of four senior police officers.
The Central Police Observer (CPO) Vivek Dubey on Friday night had removed Kolkata Police Commissioner Anuj Sharma, Bidhannagar Police Commissioner Gyanwant Singh, Birbhum Superintendent of Police Shyam Singh, and Diamond Harbour Police Superintendent S Selvamurugan.
In the letter addressed to Chief Minister Banerjee, Deputy Election Commissioner (DEC) Chandra Bhushan Kumar states: “After the review of preparedness by the Election Commission in Kolkata, Special Police Observer was appointed for West Bengal.”
“On feedback from the Deputy Election Commission, West Bengal, and Special Police Observer, the action was taken to transfer four police officers,” writes Kumar, terming Chief Minister Banerjee’s allegations as “factually incorrect innuendoes.”
“The Commission spent two days in West Bengal to assess the in-depth review of the preparedness and fairness of the electoral process. The review meetings of the Commission invariably start with an interaction with the political parties and other officials,” Bhushan writes.
“DEC in charge of West Bengal also reviewed the situation sometime in the mid-March in Kolkata. After this, the Special Police Observer was appointed for West Bengal as well as for Jharkhand, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, and Telangana.”
“It is based on the cumulative feedback from the DEC who oversees electoral process in West Bengal and Special Police Observer that action was taken for transferring four police officers. It is understood that the government of West Bengal has already operationalised the decision of ECI in respect of transfers,” Kumar further states in the letter.
