Not Just Bengal, Election Commission Transferred Officers In Tamil Nadu And Assam

The Election Commission of India has stepped up administrative changes in election-bound states, by removing several district police chiefs in both Assam and Tamil Nadu as part of its efforts to ensure free and fair polls.

In Assam, the poll body has removed five district police chiefs. The SSPs of Majuli, South Salmara, Sadiya, Chirang and Dhemaji have been transferred. The poll body has directed that the officers who have been moved should not be posted in any election-related duty. The Commission has also asked the Chief Secretary of Assam to submit a compliance report by tomorrow.

Along with these transfers, the Election Commission has sought the names of IAS officers from the 2010 to 2021 batches for consideration for deployment as District Election Officers (DEOs). The Chief Secretary has been asked to send the list of eligible officers to the Commission for review.

The poll body has also ordered removal of District Election officers in Kokrajhar, Majuli, Baksa, Chirang, Udalguri district in the northeastern state.

In another development, retired IAS officer Manjeet Singh has been appointed as a Special Observer for Assam to oversee poll-related preparedness and administrative functioning during the election process.

The Commission has also taken similar action in Tamil Nadu.

Four district police chiefs in the state have been removed ahead of the polls. According to the order, DN Harikiran Prasad, DV Kiran Shruthi, Sujith Kumar and N Shreenatha have been posted as SPs in Karur, Erode, Nagapattinam and Virudhunagar, respectively.

The Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu has been asked to submit a compliance report to the Commission by tomorrow.

The Election Commission's recent actions indicate a wider administrative reshuffle across poll-bound states to maintain neutrality in the election machinery.

Earlier, the Commission had taken major action in West Bengal, removing several top officials including the state's Chief Secretary, Director General of Police (DGP), Home Secretary, Kolkata Police Commissioner and the Additional Director General (Law and Order).