The Election Commission took action on Wednesday by removing the District Magistrate of East Midnapore and other state government officials due to allegations of unlawful conduct. A new District Magistrate was promptly appointed to the district, which is the home turf of the state’s Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari. Additionally, the Commission reshuffled five Additional District Magistrates (ADMs) across five other districts on the same day.
Unice Rishin Ismail, who was serving as the District Magistrate of East Midnapore, faced allegations related to the recruitment of contractual staff just before the Assembly elections. In response to these serious allegations, the IAS officer was transferred, and Niranjan Kumar has been named as the new District Magistrate of East Midnapore. Furthermore, the Commission transferred five other IAS officers to different roles in various districts.
The Election Commission appointed Tejaswi Rana as the Returning Officer for the Bhatpara Assembly constituency in North 24 Parganas. Aditya Vikram Mohan from Alipurduar is now responsible for the Raninagar constituency in Murshidabad. Rohan Lakshmikant, previously the Additional District Magistrate of East Burdwan, has been assigned duties in the Ranibandh area of Bankura. Lakshman Perumal, the Additional District Magistrate of Jhargram, will now serve as the Returning Officer for the Taldangra constituency in Bankura. Lastly, Srinivas Venkatrao Patil, the Additional District Magistrate of Bankura, has been appointed as the Returning Officer for the Baishnabnagar constituency in Malda district.
The Election Commission announced the dates for the Assembly elections on March 15, triggering a series of administrative reshuffles across the state. In an unusual move, the State Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, Director General of State Police, and Commissioner of Kolkata Police were replaced. The Commission has since continued with extensive reshuffling in both bureaucratic and police hierarchies, including the simultaneous transfer of Superintendents of Police (SPs) in 12 districts across the state.
