Kolkata: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has ordered the transfers of 149 lower-level police officers of the ranks of Inspectors and Sub-Inspectors and also their removal from any poll-related duty in West Bengal.
Among the 149 cops transferred and removed from poll-related duties, 81 are Inspector-rank officers, and the remaining 68 are Sub-Inspector rank officers.
Insiders from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, said that these Inspectors and Sub-Inspectors have also been allotted new responsibilities.
According to a notification issued by the commission on Thursday, they will have to take charge of their new posts by 5 P.M. on Friday.
It is learnt that the district police superintendents concerned will implement the order of the Commission on this count.
The ECI had also directed that these police officers will have to give a bond that they will not interfere in the voting process directly or indirectly.
The two-phase Assembly polls in West Bengal are scheduled on April 23 and April 29. In the first phase, there will be polling for 152 Assembly constituencies, in the second phase for the remaining 142 constituencies. The results will be declared on May 4.
The Inspectors who have been removed from polling work include two from Cooch Behar, four from Raiganj Police District, four from Islampur Police District, one from Alipurduar, three from South Dinajpur, two from Siliguri, three from Diamond Harbour Police District, two from Baruipur Police District, three from Barasat Police District, one from Basirhat Police District, one from Bangaon Police District, four from Barrackpore, six from Bidhannagar, four from Krishnanagar Police District, four from Ranaghat Police District, one from Asansol Durgapur, three from West Midnapore, five from East Midnapore, two from Purulia, two from Birbhum, one from Jalpaiguri, three from Malda, and one from Bankura.
The CEO’s office insider said that the transfer of cops in West Bengal had been done in three phases. The first phase was for the top ranking officers, like director general, additional director generals, inspector generals and director generals.
In the second phase, the transfer of mid-level officers, superintendents, additional superintendents, sub-divisional police officers and deputy superintendents of police was done.
In the third and final stages, the transfers were for lowest ranked officers like Inspector and Sub-Inspectors.
(IANS)
