Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal has affected a major reshuffle in police administration, transferring 68 IPS officers over the last two days.
The government Monday changed the portfolios of 10 senior IPS officers. It followed that up Tuesday evening, issuing orders for the reshuffle of 58 IPS officers.
Some of the prominent transfers include that of Sanjay Singh (ADG & IGP), South Bengal, who has been posted as (ADG & IGP), Western Zone, while Rajeev Mishra, who was in-charge of the Western zone, has been posted as (ADG & IG), South Bengal.
The government has also created a new post of (IGP), Bankura range, and has assigned R. Rajasekaran to the post. He had earlier held the charge of (IGP), Traffic (safety), in North Bengal.
Apart from the reshuffle, the government in a notification also announced the bifurcation of Murshidabad, one of the state’s large districts that borders Bangladesh, into two police districts — Murshidabad and Jangipur.
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‘Move aimed at civic polls’
While the government has said that the reshuffle is part of routine orders to clear the pending promotions and other transfers, a senior IPS officer said the move is significant, particularly the transfer of experienced officers, as civic body elections are due in the state in March-April.
A senior bureaucrat on condition of anonymity called the order a “preparation for holding urban local bodies elections”. Of the 126 civic bodies in the state, at least 110 are likely to go to polls in March or April.
West Bengal has around 256 IPS officers serving with the state government. Apart from them, 13 are on central deputation and 11 are under training at the Hyderabad Police Academy, senior police official said. The state has a sanctioned strength of 347 officers.
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Murshidabad bifurcated into 2 police districts
In a significant move, the government bifurcated Murshidabad, the border district that saw the maximum violence during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), into two police districts.
The division of Murshidabad saw the maximum damage of public and private property during protests in the second week of December, with protesters particularly targeting Railways property and highways in the region.
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