Kolkata, March 16 (IANS) The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday announced the replacement of key police officers in West Bengal, including the acting Director General of Police (DGP) Peeyush Pandey and Kolkata Police Commissioner Supratim Sarkar.

As per the Commission’s order, Siddh Nath Gupta, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the 1992 batch, has been made the new DGP, replacing acting DGP Pandey.

Similarly, Ajay Kumar Nand, a 1996-batch IPS officer, had been made the new Commissioner of Kolkata Police, in place of Sarkar.

Both Pandey and Sarkar were appointed on January 30.

Director General, Law & Order, Vineet Kumar Goyal, had also been removed and replaced by Ajay Mukud Ranade, a 1995-batch IPS officer, but as Additional Director General, Law & Order.

Goyal is a former Kolkata Police Commissioner, who was removed from the post soon after his name was dragged into controversy after the ghastly rape & murder of a junior doctor of state-run R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata within the hospital premises in August 2024.

In the same order, the Commission had ordered the posting of Natarajan Ramesh Babu, a 1991-batch IPS officer, as the Director General, Correctional Services.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, in his press conference to announce the election dates on Sunday, assured that elections in West Bengal would be violence-free and peaceful. In pursuance of this objective, ECI issued these transfer orders.

The EC had on Sunday night ordered the transfers of Chief Secretary, Nandini Chakraborty, and Home Secretary, Jagdish Prasad Meena, and that both will not be involved in any kind of election-related duty.

While Dushyant Nariala replaced Chakraborty, Shanghamitra Ghosh replaced Meena.

Elections in West Bengal are scheduled to be held in two phases on April 23 and 29. Counting will be held on May 4.

–IANS

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