EC puts five postings on hold in IPS transfer order
Kolkata: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has partially modified its earlier order directing 15 IPS officers from West Bengal to undertake poll-related duties in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, keeping in abeyance the transfer of five officers.
According to Commission sources, the stay applies to Akash Magharia, Amandeep, Praveen Kumar Tripathi, Murlidhar Sharma and Waquar Raza. Their transfer orders have been temporarily put on hold, while the remaining 10 officers named in the earlier notification will proceed as directed to join election duties in the two southern states.
The original directive, issued late Wednesday night, had asked all 15 officers to report immediately for assignments outside the state. The list included Akash Magharia, Alok Rajoria, Amandeep, Abhijit Banerjee, Bhaskar Mukhopadhyay, C Sudhakar, Dhritiman Sarkar, Indira Mukhopadhyay, Murlidhar Sharma, Mukesh, Praveen Kumar Tripathi, Priyabrata Roy, Sandeep Karra, Rashid Munir Khan and Waquar Raza.
In a subsequent development, however, the Commission decided to keep the transfer orders of five officers in abeyance. Sources indicated that, for now, these officers will continue in their present roles within the state.
Murlidhar Sharma is currently Commissioner of the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate, while Waquar Raza heads the Siliguri Police Commissionerate.
Among the others, Akash Magharia, former Howrah Police Commissioner, was recently appointed Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in the Intelligence Branch. Amandeep, former Superintendent of Police of Birbhum, was posted as Special Superintendent in the Intelligence Branch, while Praveen Kumar Tripathi, former Barrackpore Police Commissioner, was appointed Inspector General (IG) in the State Task Force (STF).
The Commission’s move has triggered political reactions in West Bengal.
Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee has expressed strong dissatisfaction over the removal and reassignment of senior officials and has written to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, terming the move “unilateral” and “unprecedented”. She alleged that the decisions were taken without prior consultation with the state government.
Banerjee also said that, traditionally, the Commission seeks a panel of three names from the state before removing officials from key posts during elections, a convention she claimed was not followed this time.
Meanwhile, soon after the state’s posting of the nine IPS officers, the Commission transferred four of them to Tamil Nadu for poll duty, which includes Preeti Goel, Siyad N, Arvind Kumar Meena and Rani Ayesha.
Two other IAS officers, P Ulaganathan and Shama Parveen, were also transferred by the poll body.
Among them, Ulaganathan has been holding charge as Secretary of the Panchayat and Rural Development Department, while Parveen was serving as Secretary of the North Bengal Development Department.
On Wednesday, two senior state officials—Priyanka Singla, Senior Special Secretary in the Disaster Management and Civil Defence Department, and P Mohangandhi, Secretary of the Industry, Commerce and Enterprises Department and Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the West Bengal Mineral Development and Trading Corporation—were also deputed for election duty outside Bengal.
