Kolkata, 18 April (H.S.):The Election Commission has suspended three booth-level officers (BLOs) in West Bengal and ordered departmental action along with registration of FIRs against five officials ahead of the upcoming phases of the Assembly elections, officials said on Saturday.

The suspended officials have been identified as Tapan Kumar Saha, Abhijit Dey and Kumarjit Dutta from North 24 Parganas district. They have been accused of directly participating in election campaigning in favour of the ruling Trinamool Congress, in violation of EC guidelines that bar poll-duty officials from engaging in political activities.

The Commission had earlier issued show-cause notices to the three officials. While the replies of Saha and Dey were found unsatisfactory, Dutta reportedly refused to accept the notice, prompting disciplinary action.

In a separate development, the EC has also directed the removal of Bidhannagar Police Commissioner Muralidhar Sharma. Tripurari Atharv has been appointed as his replacement and has been asked to assume charge by 11 am on Saturday.

Earlier, Sharma had been deputed as a police observer to Tamil Nadu by the Commission, but the order was later put on hold, allowing him to continue in his post temporarily. However, transfer orders of 13 other Indian Police Service officers issued in a similar context remain in effect.

Assembly elections in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with counting of votes scheduled for May 4, officials added.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey