Kolkata, Nov 27 (PTI) In the middle of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and with Assembly polls months away, the West Bengal government on Thursday ordered a sweeping police reshuffle, shifting SPs in nearly 10 districts and altering several strategic IPS positions across the northern and southern districts.
The notification by the home and hill affairs department comes at a time when the SIR process, involving house-to-house verification of voter lists, is underway, a period that has often sharpened political tensions, with both the ruling TMC and the opposition BJP accusing each other of manipulating electoral data through partisan policing.
Officials at state secretariat Nabanna insisted the reshuffle was a “routine” administrative exercise, but the timing has not gone unnoticed in political and bureaucratic circles.
In several districts such as Malda, East Midnapore, and parts of North Bengal, the SIR process has already prompted murmurs of irregularities, making the parallel movement of senior officers more politically sensitive than usual.
Among the significant changes, Jhargram SP Arijit Sinha has been promoted as DIG, Midnapore Range, a posting considered important in a belt that has historically seen tribal mobilisation, Maoist shadow zones, and emerging political shifts.
Bankura SP Vaibhav Tiwari has been moved to Purulia as SP, while Purulia SP Avijit Banerjee has taken charge as SP Malda.
Banerjee replaces Pradeep Kumar Yadav, who has been shifted as SP (Traffic), Uttar Dinajpur.
Yadav’s tenure in Malda had been eventful and controversial, marked by the back-to-back killings of several TMC leaders, including Dulalchandra ‘Babla’ Sarkar earlier this year and Ekramuk Sheikh, this morning.
His stint also saw unrest in Manikchak, where police faced allegations of opening fire on protesters, an episode that repeatedly put the district police under scrutiny.
North Bengal saw parallel movements, with Alipurduar SP Y. Raghuvamshi transferred to Jalpaiguri as SP, while Khandabale Umesh Ganpat replaced him as SP Alipurduar.
In the intelligence setup, Sachin, Senior Superintendent, IB, West Bengal, has been posted as DC, New Town, under the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate. Paschim Medinipur SP Dhritiman Sarkar replaces him, taking over as Senior Superintendent, IB.
Raiganj SP Md Sana Akhtar has been shifted to the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate as DC, West Zone, another politically sensitive industrial cluster.
A conspicuous gap has emerged in East Midnapore, the stronghold of Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari.
The outgoing SP, Soumyadip Bhattacharya, has been moved to Bankura, but the government has not named his successor.
Even the district’s Additional SP (Sadar), Nikhil Agarwal, has been transferred, leaving the key coastal district without its full supervisory leadership at a time when both parties are locked in a fierce ground-level battle and voter verification complaints are beginning to surface.
Political watchers believe the vacancy may prompt questions from the opposition, although the administration maintains that interim arrangements are already in place.
The chain of appointments continues across the map.
Sonawane Kuldip Suresh has become SP Raiganj Police District, Soumyadip Bhattacharya has taken charge as SP Bankura, Manav Singla is the new SP Jhargram, Palash Chandra Dhali moves to Paschim Medinipur as SP, and Shubhendra Kumar becomes SP Baruipur Police District.
The reshuffle caps an already turbulent phase within the police establishment, coming days after the transfer of 175 inspectors, a shake-up that signalled the government’s intent to reorient the police machinery well ahead of the 2026 electoral season.
While the government has reiterated that the transfers were made “in the interest of public service,” political parties are expected to pore over the postings closely.
For years, Bengal’s electoral terrain has been shaped not only by party cadres and booth committees but also by the force’s ability, or failure, to maintain neutrality during rolls revision, nomination phases, campaigning and polling.
As a senior police officer remarked privately, “Transfers may be routine on paper, but in Bengal, timing is never routine.” PTI SCH PNT MNB
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