Kolkata, 14 July (H.S.):
The Suvendu Adhikari-led West Bengal government on Tuesday carried out a major reshuffle in the state police, transferring 33 IPS and WBPS officers and assigning fresh responsibilities to several senior officials. The exercise is being seen as part of the government's efforts to strengthen policing and intensify investigations into economic offences and alleged corruption.
Former Kolkata Police Commissioner and CID chief Supratim Sarkar has been removed from his post and appointed Additional Director General (ADG) of the Police Telecommunication Department. Sarkar had supervised investigations into several high-profile cases, including the Shahjahan Sheikh case and incidents related to Sandeshkhali. During the previous regime, opposition parties had accused him of shielding Trinamool Congress leaders in these investigations. While the government has not stated any reason for his transfer, political observers view his new posting as a less significant assignment.
Senior IPS officer Kaliappan Jayaraman of the 1997 batch has been appointed Director of the Directorate of Economic Offences (DEO). Earlier, he had served as Member Secretary of the commission constituted to probe alleged financial irregularities during the Trinamool Congress government. Known within the police force as a tough officer, Jayaraman had arrested IAS officer Godala Kiran Kumar, then Chief Executive Officer-cum-District Magistrate, in the alleged Siliguri-Jalpaiguri Development Authority corruption case in 2013.
The government has also transferred Tripurari Atharva from the post of Commissioner of Police, Bidhannagar, and appointed him ADG, Traffic and Road Safety. Amit Kumar Rathore, who was serving as Deputy Inspector General of Police, Raiganj Range, has been named the new Commissioner of Police, Bidhannagar.
Following a series of serious crimes in South 24 Parganas' Baruipur Police District, Atish Biswas has been appointed Additional Superintendent of Police, Baruipur. He was previously serving in the same capacity in Purba Medinipur district. Pinaki Dutta has been posted as Additional SP (DIB), Baruipur.
IPS officer Natarajan Ramesh Babu, who recently drew praise for leading operations that recovered mobile phones and SIM cards from inmates inside Presidency Correctional Home, has been appointed Director General, CID. He will also continue to hold the additional charge of Director General of Prisons.
The reshuffle also includes the transfer of several other senior officers, including Anand Kumar, Vishal Garg, Sukesh Kumar Jain, Sudhir Kumar Neelakantham, David Evan Lepcha, Dinesh Kumar, Pradeep Kumar Yadav, Bishop Sarkar, Y. S. Jagannath Rao, Pratiksha Jhadkhariya and Yashpreet Singh.
According to the state government, the large-scale reshuffle is aimed at improving administrative efficiency, strengthening law enforcement, and enhancing the investigation of economic offences across West Bengal.
Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh
