The Election Commission of India has directed the transfer of five Indian Police Service officers in West Bengal. Amit Kumar Bharat Rathod will now serve as the DIG of Raiganj Range, taking over from Santosh Uttamrao Nimbalkar. Ajeet Singh Yadav is appointed as the new DIG of the Murshidabad Range, replacing Sudheer Kumar Neelakantam.
Srihari Pandey has been designated as the new DIG of Burdwan Range, succeeding Alok Rajoria. Kankar Prasad Barui assumes the role of DIG of Presidency Range, replacing Bhaskar Mukherjee. Anjali Singh is appointed as the new DIG of Jalpaiguri Range, taking over from Dr Bholanath Pandey.
In preparation for the upcoming two-phase Assembly polls, the ECI had previously ordered the transfer of 19 senior police officers in West Bengal. This included the transfer of two ADGs, four Commissioners of Police, 12 SPs, and a Deputy Commissioner of Kolkata Police.
Earlier, the ECI had also made changes at the top level, replacing the Acting DGP, Kolkata Police Commissioner, and Director General of Law & Order. Siddh Nath Gupta, Ajay Kumar Nand, and Ajay Mukund Ranade respectively assumed these positions.
Following the announcement of the two-phase Assembly elections in West Bengal, the ECI made further changes by replacing the Chief Secretary and Home Secretary. Dushyant Nariala took over from Nandini Chakraborty, while Shanghamitra Ghosh succeeded Jagdish Prasad Meena.
The Assembly elections in West Bengal are scheduled to be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29. The first phase will cover 152 Assembly constituencies, with the second phase involving polling in 142 constituencies.
