EC removes another official in poll-bound Bengal

Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued order to the Chief Secretary of the State asking him to remove Bharati Ghosh from her present posting as the Officer on special duty (OSD) in the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) divisions to the Criminal Investigation Department. 

Though Ghosh was not involved in the electoral process, the Opposition parties during their meeting with the Chief Election Commissioner Naseem Zaidi raised certain issues regarding Ghosh's posting. The ECI had earlier sought report from the Chief Secretary about the new post which was created for Ghosh. Ghosh was transferred and posted as OSD of LWE areas from the post of superintendent police of West Midnapore. 

The Opposition parties had told the ECI that the new post was created for Ghosh by the government in violation of certain norms. 

Incidentally it may be mentioned that on last Thursday ECI removed four Superintendents of Police from Malda, South Dinajpur, Nadia and Burdwan and the District Magistrate of Hooghly from their posting. They were released from election duty after the ECI found some laxity on their parts in implementing election guidelines. Many police officers on the rank of IC or OC were removed from. District Election Officer (DEO) of Kolkata North and Kolkata South was also removed from the election duty. 

Meanwhile, three Chief Electoral Officers from Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi have already arrived the state. They are VK Singh, Narendra Chouhan and Dr Chandra Bhusan Kumar. Other two CEOs, Sandip Kumar from Daman and Diu and Anil Kumar Jha from Karnataka are expected to come within Sunday. These five CEOs will lead five teams of special observers to their visit to different districts. 

The senior officials of EC on Saturday held a review meeting with the DEOs of Kolkata North and Kolkata South, Narayan Swaroop Nigam and Smita Pandey where poll preparations were being discussed.  

A senior election official on Saturday said that the commission has so far seized cash worth Rs 1 crore and 50 thousand from across the state among which around Rs 31 lakh was recovered from Burrabazar area. 

The expenditure observers and flying squads are conducting vigil on the illegal use of money in the election.