Kolkata, Mar, 16
In a move unprecedented in West Bengal’s administrative history, the Election Commission removed the state’s bureaucratic and police top brass, including the chief secretary and the DGP, in the run-up to the assembly polls. The decision for the shake-up was taken hours after the announcement of the assembly poll schedule on Sunday. While the commission’s first order, issued late Sunday evening, resulted in the removal of the state’s two top bureaucrats, Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty and Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena, a subsequent order, dated March 16, removed the state’s DGP Peeyush Pandey and Kolkata CP Supratim Sarkar, who were among four top IPS officers in Bengal replaced ahead of the elections.
The commission appointed Dushyant Nariala, an IAS officer of the 1993 batch and additional chief secretary of the state’s North Bengal Development department, as the state’s chief secretary. The poll panel ordered the appointment of Sanghamitra Ghosh, a 1997-batch IAS officer and secretary of the Women and Child Development department, as West Bengal’s home secretary.
The EC appointed senior IPS officer Siddh Nath Gupta, a 1992 batch IPS officer, as the director general of police, and brought in Ajay Kumar Nand (IPS-1996) as the new commissioner of Kolkata Police. Nand served as ADG (Counter Insurgency Force) prior to this posting.
The commission also replaced ADG (law and order) Vineet Goyal with Ajay Mukund Ranade (IPS-1995) and appointed Natarajan Ramesh Babu, a senior IPS officer of the 1991 batch, as DG (correctional services), in place of Siddh Nath Gupta, who held that position prior to the transfers.
The poll panel said its directions were to be implemented with immediate effect, and asked for a report of the joining of all the officers in their respective offices 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.
“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,” a senior Election Commission official told PTI.
It bears recall that during the commission’s full bench visit to Kolkata last week to review poll preparedness of the state, Kumar had, as per media reports, reprimanded Goyal and questioned the absence of a Narcotics Advisory Committee in Bengal.
Kumar said the commission had instructed officers in the state to enforce the rule of law strictly without fear or favour.
“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.
Kumar was unambiguous on the operational boundaries within which the commission expected the state officials to work during the poll 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 was enforced in the wake of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress dispensation’s constant criticism of the poll body over the ongoing SIR exercise in the state.
The assembly polls will be held in the state on April 23 and 29, and votes will be counted on May 4.
