Major reshuffle of IPS officers in Bengal after LoP Adhikari's complaint to CEC accusing cops of behaving like TMC leaders

Kolkata, Nov 27 The West Bengal government, on Thursday, had announced a major reshuffle in the police administration, transferring a total of 14 Indian Police Service (IPS) officers mainly in the ranks of District Superintendents of Police (DSPs).

The transfer comes amid a letter from the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in West Bengal Assembly and senior BJP leader, Suvendu Adhikari, to the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, seeking the latter's intervention in initiating action against several police officers whom LoP Adhikari accused of acting like ruling Trinamool Congress leaders.

Incidentally, the list of IPS officers transferred includes Soumyadip Bhattacharya, the district police Superintendent of East Midnapore, the native district of the Leader of the Opposition.

However, the state government is yet to announce the name of Bhattacharya's successor for the chair of East Midnapore Police Superintendent.

Even on Thursday afternoon, nearly hours before the transfer order was issued, LoP Adhikari accused Bhattacharya of acting under the instructions of vote-strategist Prashant Kishor-founded India Political Action Committee (I-PAC), which had been strategising poll strategy for Trinamool Congress since the 2021 West Bengal Assembly polls.

He said that after a local BJP leader from Nandigram in East Midnapore district refused to join the Bharatiya Hindu Parishad (BHP), his son, who was appointed as a contractual village police in the district, has been relieved from his services.

He also accused Bhattacharya of transferring nine civic volunteers from Nandigram Police Station just because they were Hindus.

Incidentally, Adhikari himself is the legislator from Nandigram Assembly constituency.

Trinamool Congress's state Vice-President Jaiprakash Majumdar had described Adhikari's allegations against Bhattacharya as baseless.

"Adhikari has the habit of making baseless allegations on a daily basis. Even common people doubt the allegations made by him. He always connects any administrative decision with politics. Now he is dragging the name of an organisation whose role is just that of an advisor. This proves how panicked he is," Majumdar said.

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