The Election Fee on Sunday transferred officers-in-charge and inspectors-in-charge of 173 police stations throughout West Bengal, together with 31 below Kolkata Police, as a part of measures to make sure free and honest Meeting elections, officers stated.
Officers posted in key constituencies akin to Bhabanipur in Kolkata and Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district had been included within the reshuffle.
The transfers additionally concerned inspectors and sub-inspectors assigned as ICs and OCs in districts together with Cooch Behar, Malda, Murshidabad, Birbhum, Paschim Medinipur, Howrah, and North and South 24 Parganas.
In response to the order, Soumitra Basu, beforehand with the Particular Activity Drive (STF), will take cost as IC of the Bhabanipur police station.
In Bhabanipur, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is about to face her former protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari, turning her long-held bastion into one of many state’s most carefully watched and fiercely contested Meeting seats.
The OCs of different key stations, akin to Alipore, Ekbalpore, Haridevpur, Entally, Jorasanko, Gariahat, Bhawanipore, New Market, Bowbazar, Tollygunge, Amherst Avenue, Taratala, and Behala, had been additionally transferred.
Debdulal Mondal has been posted as IC of Haldia, Kajal Dutta to Kolaghat, Susanta Chattopadhyay from Alipurduar to Egra, and Chandrakanta Shasmal as OC of Patashpur, officers stated.
In a parallel transfer, the fee additionally ordered the switch of 14 block growth officers (BDOs) in Purba Medinipur, together with these in Nandigram I and Nandigram II blocks.
Ballot physique officers stated such large-scale transfers are geared toward making certain neutrality in regulation enforcement and sustaining a degree taking part in subject through the elections by minimising native affect.
Earlier within the day, the EC transferred 83 block growth officers and assistant returning officers throughout 18 districts of the state.
The big-scale reshuffle covers blocks starting from Dinhata-II in Cooch Behar to Diamond Harbour-I and II in South 24 Parganas district, together with Ramnagar, Nandigram-I and II, Nanoor, Labhpur, Suri-I, Mohammad Bazar, Ilambazar and Mayureswar-I, amongst others, they stated.
Districts affected by the transfers embody Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, North and South Dinajpur, Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, East and West Midnapore, Purulia, Bankura, East and West Burdwan, and Birbhum, officers added.
The directive was issued by the fee from its New Delhi workplace, a senior ballot official stated.
The transfer comes amid persevering with friction between the state authorities and the Centre over the switch of officers forward of elections.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has on a number of events alleged that such reshuffles are politically motivated.
The elections to the 294-member West Bengal meeting will probably be held in two phases – on April 23 and 29. Votes will probably be counted on Could 4.
