In a partial modification of its earlier order, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has put on hold the transfer of five IPS officers from West Bengal who were slated to be sent to Tamil Nadu and Kerala as election observers.
The decision comes just hours after the commission had directed the immediate deployment of 15 IPS officers from the state to assist in poll-related duties in the two southern states.
According to sources in the commission, the stay applies to five officers ~ Akash Magharia, Amandeep, Praveen Kumar Tripathi, Muralidhar Sharma and Wakar Raza ~ whose transfer orders have been temporarily suspended.
The remaining 10 officers named in the earlier notification will, however, have to proceed as directed and join election duties in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
The original directive, issued late Wednesday night, had instructed all 15 officers to report immediately for election-related assignments outside the state.
The list included Akash Magharia, Alok Rajoria, Amandeep, Abhijit Banerjee, Bhaskar Mukhopadhyay, C Sudhakar, Dhritiman Sarkar, Indira Mukhopadhyay, Muralidhar Sharma, Mukesh, Praveen Kumar Tripathi, Priyabrata Roy, Sandeep Karra, Rashid Munir Khan and Wakar Raza.
However, in a subsequent development, the commission decided to keep the transfer orders in abeyance for the five officers.
Sources indicated that, for the time being, these officers will continue in their present or recently assigned roles within the state.
Among them, Muralidhar Sharma is currently serving as the Commissioner of Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate, while Wakar Raza holds the post of Commissioner of Siliguri Police.
Both are expected to continue in their respective positions for now.
The other three officers ~ Akash Magharia, Amandeep and Praveen Kumar Tripathi ~ had recently been reassigned by the state government following their removal from previous posts.
Akash Magharia, who was earlier the Police Commissioner of Howrah, had been appointed as Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in the Intelligence Bureau (IB).
Amandeep, the former Superintendent of Police of Birbhum, was posted as Special Superintendent in the IB. Praveen Kumar Tripathi, who had served as Barrackpore Police Commissioner, was subsequently appointed as Inspector General in the State Task Force (STF) by the state administration.
Sources said they will continue in these roles until further instructions.
The ECI’s recent actions regarding the transfer and deployment of senior police officers in West Bengal have triggered a political controversy.
The ruling Trinamul Congress (TMC) has questioned what it described as the commission’s “activism” in the state ahead of the elections.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already expressed strong dissatisfaction over the removal and reassignment of senior officials and had written to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar raising concerns over the process.
In her letter, she alleged that such decisions were taken without prior consultation with the state government or seeking its views.
Banerjee also pointed out that, traditionally, in cases where the removal of officials holding key positions was deemed necessary during elections, the commission would seek a panel of three names from the state government and then select one officer from that list.
She claimed that this established convention had not been followed this time.
With the latest partial rollback, uncertainty continues over the deployment of senior officers from West Bengal, even as the broader tussle between the state government and the Election Commission of India shows no signs of easing ahead of the crucial assembly polls.