ECI transfers 19 senior police officers in poll-bound West Bengal

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday (March 17, 2026) ordered the transfer of 19 senior police officers, including two ADGs, in another reshuffle ahead of the Assembly elections in the state.

Assembly Elections 2026, highlights on March 17, 2026

IPS officer Rajesh Kumar Singh was appointed the new Additional Director General (ADG) of South Bengal, while K. Jayaraman was named the ADG of North Bengal. Both belonged to the 1997 batch, according to a statement.

New Commissioners of Police (CP) were appointed for Asansol-Durgapur, Howrah, Barrackpore and Chandannagar.

Pranav Kumar was appointed the new CP of Asansol-Durgapur in Paschim Bardhaman; Akhilesh Kumar Chaturvedi was named the CP of Howrah; Amit Kumar Singh was named the new CP of Barrackpore in North 24 Parganas; and Sunil Kumar Yadav was appointed the CP of Chandannagar in Hooghly district.

Superintendents of 12 districts were also changed in the latest reshuffle.

Puspa was appointed SP of Barasat, Jaspreet Singh of Cooch Behar, Surya Pratap Yadav of Birbhum, Kumar Sunny Rai of Hooghly Rural, Ishani Paul of Diamond Harbour, Sachin of Murshidabad, Alakananda Bhowal of Basirhat, Anupam Singh of Malda, Anshuman Saha of Purba Medinipur and Surinder Singh of Jangipur.

Rakesh Singh was posted as the new SP of Islampur, and Papiya Sultana as SP of Paschim Medinipur.

Y.S. Jagannathrao was made the DCP (Central) of Kolkata Police.

“The Election Commission is committed to holding transparent, free of fear, violence-free and inducement-free elections,” an official said.

The EC directed immediate implementation of the order and sought compliance by 11 a.m. on March 18, barring transferred officers from poll duty, according to the statement.

After the poll dates were announced on Sunday (March 15), the ECI transferred Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty and Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena. It subsequently removed DGP Peeyush Pandey and Kolkata CP Supratim Sarkar.

The elections to the 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be held in two phases, on April 23 and 29. Votes will be counted on May 4.