This transfer order comes in the wake of the opposition parties levelling allegations of bias towards the ruling party.
With less than 48 hours to go before Birbhum district of West Bengal goes for the polls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) removed district Superintendent of Police, Mukesh Kumar over allegations of bias towards ruling party - Trinamool Congress. An order from the poll panel to the Chief Secretary, West Bengal said that the district SP of Birbhum, Mukesh Kumar has been transferred and Sabyasachi Raman Mishra, a 2004-batch IPS officer from the Bengal cadre, currently serving as SS CID has been asked to take charge with immediate effect.
Besides the SP, three officers-in-charge of Labhpur, Mayureshwar and Bolpur police stations under Birbhum district have also been removed. The poll panel has asked the State DGP to appoint three new officers at these police stations by Friday, 5pm.
This transfer order comes in the wake of the opposition parties levelling allegations of bias towards the ruling party on the part of the SP. However, it is noteworthy that two out of the three police stations where officers-in-charge have been transferred were appointed by the state before the polls and their role was under the scanner of the ECI. Opposition parties claim that Trinamool Congress' District President of Birbhum, Anubrata Mondal had allegedly threatened voters openly and warned them of 'vanishing them' if they do not vote for his party.
Their claims add that on several occasions, complaints had been filed against Mondal in cases of political clashes and violence, but the SP or the police machinery did not take any action against him. Political parties claim that Birbhum district of Bengal, has become a hotbed of violence with reports of clashes being reported every now and then. This official order from the poll panel came in a late night development, after the Chief Election Commissioner, Dr. Nasim Zaidi chaired a full bench meeting with the political parties and senior police officials in Kolkata.
The move comes after the EC on Tuesday removed Rajeev Kumar from the post of Kolkata commissioner of police, a mere 10 weeks after his appointment. He was replaced by Soumen Mitra, who was overlooked by the TMC when it appointed Kumar on Jan 29. Kumar’s removal was actively sought by the Left-Congress opposition, as well as the BJP.
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