Bengal government reshuffles IPS officers after EC removes DGP and Kolkata Police chief

The West Bengal government reshuffled several senior IPS officers hours after the Election Commission removed DGP Peeyush Pandey and Kolkata Police Commissioner Supratim Sarkar. Pandey was posted as director (security) while Sarkar was appointed ADG, CID

Kolkata: Hours after the Election Commission ordered the removal of DGP Peeyush Pandey and Kolkata Police commissioner Supratim Sarkar, the West Bengal government on Monday issued a notification transferring and posting several senior IPS officers, including the two, with immediate effect.

Pandey has been posted as director (security), while Sarkar has been appointed additional director general (ADG), CID, with additional charge of ADG, Intelligence Branch, Kolkata, according to the notification issued by the state’s Home and Hill Affairs Department.

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According to the state government order, Manoj Kumar Verma, who was serving as director (security), has been named additional director (security) in the rank of ADG.

Laxmi Narayan Meena, ADG and IGP, CID, has been shifted to the post of ADG, Correctional Services, while Vineet Kumar Goyal, DG and IGP (Law and Order), will continue to hold charge of DG and IGP, Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB).

“These appointments are made in the interest of public service,” the notification said.

Earlier in the day, the EC appointed senior IPS officer Siddh Nath Gupta, a 1992-batch IPS officer, as the director general of police, and brought in Ajay Kumar Nand (IPS-1996) as the new commissioner of Kolkata Police. Nand served as ADG (Counter Insurgency Force) prior to this posting.

The West Bengal assembly elections will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with counting of votes scheduled for May 4.