Kolkata: The Election Commission of India on Tuesday ordered the immediate transfer of 19 senior police officers in West Bengal, including two additional directors general, as part of a sweeping administrative overhaul ahead of the state’s legislative assembly elections.

The reshuffle, aimed at ensuring an impartial electoral environment, follows the announcement of poll dates and the subsequent implementation of the Model Code of Conduct. Among the top-tier changes, Rajesh Kumar Singh and K. Jayaraman, both members of the 1997 IPS batch, have been designated as the new additional directors general (ADG) for South Bengal and North Bengal, respectively.

The Commission also installed new commissioners of police (CP) in several critical industrial and suburban zones:

  • Pranav Kumar takes over as CP for Asansol-Durgapur.
  • Akhilesh Kumar Chaturvedi has been named CP of Howrah.
  • Amit Kumar Singh will serve as CP of Barrackpore.
  • Sunil Kumar Yadav has been appointed CP of Chandannagar.

Beyond the urban centres, the reshuffle extended to the leadership of 12 districts. The new superintendents of police (SP) include Puspa (Barasat), Jaspreet Singh (Cooch Behar), Surya Pratap Yadav (Birbhum), Kumar Sunny Rai (Hooghly Rural), Ishani Paul (Diamond Harbour), Sachin (Murshidabad), Alakananda Bhowal (Basirhat), Anupam Singh (Malda), Anshuman Saha (Purba Medinipur), and Surinder Singh (Jangipur). Additionally, Rakesh Singh was posted to Islampur and Papiya Sultana to Paschim Medinipur, while Y.S. Jagannathrao was appointed as the Deputy Commissioner (Central) for the Kolkata Police.

"The Election Commission is committed to holding transparent, free of fear, violence-free and inducement-free elections," a Commission official stated, emphasising that transferred officers are strictly prohibited from performing any poll-related duties in their former jurisdictions.

The order requires full compliance and joining reports by 11 a.m. on March 18. This latest directive follows a series of high-level removals since Sunday, including the transfers of Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty and Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena, as well as the replacement of the state's Director General of Police, Peeyush Pandey, and Kolkata CP Supratim Sarkar.

Voting for the 294-member assembly is scheduled to take place in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with results expected on May 4.

With inputs from PTI