Major administrative reshuffle before West Bengal elections: Election Commission removed DGP and Chief Secretary

Before the upcoming assembly elections in West Bengal, the Election Commission of India has made a major reshuffle in the administrative and police system of the state. The Commission has removed the current Director General of Police (DGP) and Chief Secretary and appointed new officers.

As per the order of the Election Commission, senior IPS officer Siddha Nath Gupta has been appointed as the new Director General of Police (DGP) and Inspector General of the state. He has replaced Piyush Pandey. Senior IAS officer Dushyant Nariyala has been made the new Chief Secretary, replacing Nandini Chakraborty.

The Election Commission has also made changes in other important posts in the state police. Ajay Kumar Nand has been appointed as the new Commissioner of Kolkata Police, replacing Supratim Sarkar.

Apart from this, Natarajan Ramesh Babu has been appointed as the Director General of Correctional Services of the state and Ajay Mukund Ranade has been made the Additional Director General and Inspector General of Police (Law and Order).

The Election Commission has directed the state government that the officers who have been removed should not be posted on any election-related post until the election process is completed.

Siddha Nath Gupta, a 1992 batch IPS officer, has more than three decades of administrative experience. During his career he has handled many complex law and order situations.

He has played an important role in maintaining law and order during the Nandigram movement, Naxal activities in Lalgarh and the Gorkhaland movement in Darjeeling. Apart from this, he has also handled the situation of communal tension and riots that occurred several times in the state.

The Election Commission has asked the state government to immediately implement these appointments and ensure that all the new officers take charge within the stipulated time frame. The commission has also sought a compliance report from the state government by 3 pm.

Before the change in police leadership, the Commission had also made changes at the administrative level. Along with making Dushyant Nariyala the Chief Secretary, instructions have been given to keep Nandini Chakraborty away from all election related work. Apart from this, instructions have also been given to appoint Sanghamitra Ghosh as Principal Secretary of Home and Hill Affairs.

Assembly elections in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and 29, while counting of votes will take place on May 4.

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