Kolkata, 17 March (H.S.): The Election Commission of India on Tuesday carried out a major reshuffle in the West Bengal police, transferring 12 district Superintendents of Police (SPs) along with several senior officers, officials said.

As part of the move, Kolkata Police’s DC (Central) Indira Mukhopadhyay was removed from her post and replaced by Srikanta Jagannathrao Yelwade. The Commission also shifted two ADG-rank officers and changed commissioners in four police commissionerates.

The latest reshuffle comes within 24 hours of the Commission removing state DGP Piyush Pandey and replacing the Kolkata Police Commissioner.

Officials said SPs of Birbhum, Diamond Harbour, Purba Medinipur, Cooch Behar, Malda, Paschim Medinipur, Barasat, Jangipur, Murshidabad, Hooghly (Rural), Islampur and Basirhat were among those transferred.

Among the new appointments, Suryapratap Yadav was posted as SP of Birbhum, Jaspreet Singh in Cooch Behar, and Pushpa in Barasat police district. Ishani Pal was appointed SP of Diamond Harbour, while Rakesh Singh took charge in Islampur.

In Murshidabad, Sachin was appointed SP, while Alokananda Bhowal was posted in Basirhat. Anupam Singh was named SP of Malda and Anshuman Saha in Purba Medinipur.

Further, Papia Sultana was posted as SP of Paschim Medinipur and Surinder Singh in Jangipur, officials added.

At the ADG level, Rajesh Kumar Singh was appointed for south Bengal, while K Jayaraman was posted in north Bengal.

The Commission also appointed new police commissioners in four commissionerates — Pranab Kumar in Asansol-Durgapur, Akhilesh Chaturvedi in Howrah, Amit Kumar Singh in Barrackpore and Sushil Kumar Yadav in Chandannagar.

Meanwhile, the reshuffle has triggered a fresh confrontation between the state government and the Election Commission of India. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to the Chief Election Commissioner, alleging that the decisions were taken without consulting the state government.

She also said that earlier the Commission used to seek a panel of officers from the state before effecting such transfers, but the established practice was not followed this time.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey