New Delhi : The Election Commission removed the sitting Director General of Police (DGP) and Chief Secretary and appointed new officers to the posts. Senior IAS officer Dushyant Nariala will replace Nandini Chakravarty as the Chief Secretary, while top police officer Siddh Nath Gupta has been appointed as the DGP, replacing Peeyush Pandey.
1992-batch IPS officer Siddh Nath Gupta has been posted as the Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG & IGP) in charge of West Bengal. Gupta has handled complex law and order situations and overseen critical administrative transitions within the state’s police force in his three-decade-long career. He played an instrumental role in managing the law and order situations during the Nandigram unrest, the Lalgarh Naxal movement, and the Gorkhaland agitation in Darjeeling.
Natarajan Ramesh Babu has been appointed as the Director General of Correctional Services in the state, while Ajay Mukund Ranade has been posted as the Additional Director General and Inspector General of Police (Law and Order). The Commission has directed the state government to ensure that the officers transferred out are not posted to any election-related positions until the completion of the elections.
Ahead of the changes in the police leadership, the Election Commission also ordered the appointment of Dushyant Nariala as the new Chief Secretary, replacing Nandini Chakravarty. The poll body specified that Chakravarty would be kept out of all election-related assignments.
In a letter to the state government sent on Sunday night, the poll authority has also directed the appointment of Sanghamitra Ghosh as principal secretary, Home and Hill Affairs.
The Commission said the decision to shunt out the two officers was taken following a review of the poll preparedness of the state. Assembly polls will be held in the state on April 23 and 29, and votes will be counted on May 4.
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