Election Commission Shuffles Bengal's Police Leadership Ahead of Lok Sabha Polls

After dismissing Rajeev Kumar from the position, the Election Commission of India on Monday named Vivek Sahay, an IPS officer from the 1988 batch, as Bengal's director general of police.

Prior to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Kumar is the first member of the Indian Police Service to be transferred to Bengaluru.

Selecting Sahay came from a list of "three eligible officers" that the state government gave in response to an afternoon directive from the EC asking Bengal's chief secretary to recommend Kumar's successors "latest by 5pm."

Sanjay Mukherjee and Dr. Rajesh Kumar were the other two senior IPS officers, in addition to Sahay.

Due to his seniority, Sahay was chosen to serve as the home guards' director general and commandant general, according to sources within the home department.

Following the retirement of Manoj Malaviya in December 2023, Kumar, an officer from the 1989 batch, was appointed DGP. He was moved to his previous position on Monday as an officer on special duty in the department of electronics and information technology, holding the rank of additional secretary.

"We have complied with the EC's directive to shift Kumar to a non-election related post with immediate effect," a senior home department official stated. "This transfer, to our understanding, is temporary till the elections are over and the results declared."

Although the specific reason for Kumar's removal from his position remained unclear, sources claimed that the officer was questioned after the BJP and other opposition parties criticized the Bengal police for their supposed inaction in Sandeshkhali.

Along with a group of senior officers, Kumar paid a visit to the volatile island of North 24-Parganas last month. There, he pledged to uphold the rule of law in the face of significant demonstrations from women who accused local Trinamul strongman Sheikh Shahjahan and his associates of various atrocities.

During the EC panel's visit to Bengal earlier this month, senior BJP leaders brought up the issue with the entire bench due to Kumar's purported partiality towards Trinamul.

Trinamul denounced this action, saying it was just another instance of the BJP attempting to seize control of institutions, such as the EC. "They are now in charge of many organizations and central agencies. Speaking through a spokeswoman, Kunal Ghosh, "What we saw today is the reflection of the BJP in this case as well, following the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections." "... the public supports Trinamul and Mamata Banerjee, even though the BJP may move a few officers. Again, Trinamul will triumph over BJP.

The Congress responded to the transfer of Kumar. Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury stated, "Kumar is a good police officer... (but) was transferred because he started working for the party (Trinamul)."

The election panel had already removed Kumar from his position before.

Ahead of the Assembly elections in 2016, Kumar was dismissed of his duties as the commissioner of Calcutta police. When Kumar was sacked prior to the general elections in 2019, he was the additional DGP, CID.

When Sahay was attacked by four to five men in March 2021 while running for office in Nandigram, Mamata claimed there was no police presence, which put Sahay under investigation by the EC. Sahay, who was the CM's security director at the time, was suspended right away.

More senior officials from across the nation were ordered to leave on Monday by the Election Commission (EC). These officials included the general administration secretaries of Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh, the home secretaries of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, as well as Brihanmumbai municipal commissioner Iqbal Chahal.

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