Ahead Of LS Polls, Election Commission Transfers West Bengal DGP, Home Secretaries Of 6 States

Separately, the poll body has transferred Home Secretaries of six states, which include Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.

Vivek Sahay, a 1988 batch IPS officer of the West Bengal cadre, has replaced Kumar as the DGP of the state.

The directives by the Election Commission of India come just days after the announcement of the Lok Sabha Elections. 

Notably, complying with the ECI direction, the Gujarat government has entrusted the additional charge of the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) to AK Rakesh in place of Pankaj Joshi.

Both Rakesh and Joshi are 1989 batch IAS officers of the Gujarat cadre.

Besides these top-level changes, the Secretary of Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh's General Administrative Department have also been removed. The move by the poll body is said to be an effort to maintain a level playing field and to ensure the integrity of the electoral process.

The ECI had instructed the states to transfer officers who are associated with election-related work, who have completed three years, or who are posted in their home district.   

(Written with inputs from media agencies)