The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday ordered the transfer of four senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officers in West Bengal, including the state’s Director General of Police (DGP) and the Commissioner of Kolkata, in a move aimed at ensuring peaceful and violence-free elections in the state.
The decision comes a day after the poll panel announced a two-phase election schedule for West Bengal, with voting set to take place on April 23 and April 29. Late on Monday night, the Commission had also ordered the transfer of the state’s chief secretary and home secretary as part of its efforts to maintain administrative neutrality during the electoral process.
According to a senior ECI official, the reshuffle was carried out in line with the assurances made by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar during a press conference on Sunday.
“The Chief Election Commissioner had assured that elections in West Bengal would be violence-free and peaceful. In pursuance of this objective, the ECI has appointed and transferred senior police officials in the state, including the DGP of the state police and the Commissioner of Kolkata Police,” the official said.
As part of the changes, Siddh Nath Gupta, a 1992-batch IPS officer, has been appointed as the new DGP of West Bengal, replacing Peeyush Pandey. Ajay Kumar Nand has been posted as the new Commissioner of Kolkata Police in place of Supratim Sarker.
The Commission also ordered the transfer of two other key officers. Natarajan Ramesh Babu has been appointed as the new Director General of Correctional Services, while Ajay Mukund Ranade has been posted as the new Additional Director General (ADG) in charge of law and order.
The reshuffle of top administrative and police officials is seen as part of the Election Commission’s broader strategy to strengthen oversight and ensure a level playing field during the elections in the politically sensitive state. West Bengal has witnessed incidents of poll-related violence in previous elections, prompting the Commission to adopt stricter monitoring and administrative measures.
With the polling dates approaching, the Election Commission is expected to continue reviewing the law-and-order situation and deploy additional central forces across the state to ensure that voters can cast their ballots freely and safely.
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