Kolkata: Following its promise of violence-free elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) executed a major administrative overhaul in West Bengal on Monday. The Commission ordered the immediate replacement of the acting Director General of Police (DGP), the Kolkata Police Commissioner, and the Director General of Law & Order.
Major Police Reshuffle
As per the ECI directive, Siddh Nath Gupta (1992-batch IPS) takes over as the new DGP, replacing acting DGP Peeyush Pandey. Simultaneously, Ajay Kumar Nand (1996-batch IPS) assumes the role of Kolkata Police Commissioner, succeeding Supratim Sarkar. Notably, both outgoing officers had only held their positions since January 30.
In another significant move, the Commission removed Vineet Kumar Goyal from his post as Director General of Law & Order, replacing him with Ajay Mukud Ranade (1995-batch IPS). Goyal, a former Kolkata Police chief, had previously faced intense scrutiny following the R.G. Kar Medical College tragedy in 2024.
Bureaucratic Clean-up
The police reshuffle follows Sunday night’s removal of West Bengal’s top two bureaucrats. Nandini Chakraborty (Chief Secretary) and Jagdish Prasad Meena (Home Secretary) were stripped of their election-related duties. They have been replaced by Dushyant Nariala and Shanghamitra Ghosh, respectively.
Pursuit of Peaceful Polls
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar emphasized that these transfers are essential to ensuring a peaceful electoral environment in the state. West Bengal will head to the polls in two phases on April 23 and 29, with results scheduled for May 4.
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