KOLKATA: The Election Commission on Wednesday ordered a fresh round of reshuffle of senior officers in poll-bound West Bengal, appointing 13 IAS officers as DMs-cum-DEOs and posting five IPS officers as deputy inspectors general (DIGs).
The IAS officers were appointed as district magistrates (DMs) who will also serve as district election officers (DEOs), placing them at the centre of poll management and supervision at the district level.
According to an official communication, officers including Jitin Yadav (Cooch Behar), Sandeep Ghosh (Jalpaiguri), Vivek Kumar (Uttar Dinajpur), Rajanvir Singh Kapur (Malda) and R Arjun (Murshidabad) have been posted as DMs-cum-DEOs.
Similarly, Srikant Palli has been appointed as DM-cum-DEO of Nadia, Sweta Agarwal in Purba Bardhaman, Shilpa Gorisaria in North 24 Parganas, Abhishek Kumar Tiwary in South 24 Parganas, Harishankar Panicker in Darjeeling and T Balasubramanian in Alipurduar.
Smita Pandey has been posted as Municipal Commissioner of Kolkata Municipal Corporation and DEO of Kolkata North, while Randhir Kumar will serve as DEO of Kolkata South.
"These officers will play a crucial role in ensuring free, fair and transparent elections. Many of them will also function in observer capacities to closely monitor poll preparedness and conduct at the district level," a senior Election Commission official said.
In a parallel order, the poll panel transferred and posted five IPS officers as DIGs. Rathod Amitkumar Bharat has been appointed DIG, Raiganj Range, while Ajeet Singh Yadav will serve as DIG, Murshidabad. Shrihari Pandey has been posted as DIG, Bardhaman, Kankar Prosad Barui as DIG, Presidency Range, and Anjali Singh as DIG, Jalpaiguri.
The commission directed that the orders be implemented with immediate effect and compliance reports on the joining of the officers be submitted by March 19.
It also said officers transferred out should not be assigned any election-related duties till the completion of the poll process.
The reshuffle follows a series of changes effected by the poll body shortly after announcing the election schedule on Sunday, including the transfer of Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty and Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena, and the subsequent removal of DGP Peeyush Pandey and Kolkata Police Commissioner Supratim Sarkar.
The polling for the 294-member assembly in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and 29, with counting scheduled for May 4.