West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today “challenged” the Election Commission’s decision to transfer five Superintendents of Police and one District Magistrate in the State.

The reshuffle came a day after the Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath warned of stern action against “biased officials”.

“There will be no transfer of any official till I am the Chief Minister. The State was kept in the dark. I challenge the Election Commission. I will not accept this decision,” she said at a public rally in Pandua, Hooghly.

This is a “conspiracy” hatched jointly by the Congress, the BJP and the CPI (M) and the EC is “acting on their behalf”, she said launching a personal attack on Deputy Election Commissioner Vinod Zutsi.

Transfers

According to Sunil Kumar Gupta, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal, the state government has been asked to implement EC orders over the next 24 hours.

“In a letter to the Chief Secretary, the Commission has said that the officers be shifted to non-election related and non-field posts on intimation to the Commission,” Gupta told reporters in Kolkata.

According to him, OS Meena will replace Sanjay Bansal as the new District Magistrate of North 24-Parganas.

New officers

Among the new SPs taking charge would be Sish Ram Jhajhoria (Paschim Midnapore); Syed Waquar Raza (Murshidabad); Meeraz Khalid (Burdwan); Rashid Munir Khan (Birbhum) and Roopesh Kumar (Malda).

They replace Bharati Ghosh (Paschim Midnapore); Humayun Kabir (Murshidabad); Syed Mirza (Burdwan); Alok Rajoria (Birbhum) and RK Yadav (Malda).

Among the SPs, Alok Rajoria has been transferred to fill up the vacant post of the SP of Jhargram police district. He was previously the SP of Birbhum.

The other officers transferred include an additional district magistrate and a returning officer.

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Published on April 7, 2014