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The Election Commission of India (ECI) building, in New Delhi.
The Election Commission (EC) on March 21 issued transfer orders for non-cadre officers who are posted at leadership positions as District Magistrate and Superintendents of Police in the four States of Gujarat, Punjab, Odisha and West Bengal.
The officers to be transferred are Superintendent of Police of Chhota Udaipur and Ahmedabad Rural districts in Gujarat, SSP of Pathankot, Fazilka, Jalandhar Rural and Malerkotla districts of Punjab; District Magistrate of Dhenkanal and SPs of Deogarh and Cuttack Rural districts in Odisha; and DMs of Purba Medinipur, Jhargram, Purba Bardhaman and Birbhum districts of West Bengal.
‘Kinship with elected persons’
Additionally, the Commission has also directed for transfer of Bathinda SSP in Punjab and Sonitpur SP in Assam in view of their “kinship or familial association” with the elected political representatives.
“The officials in these two districts have been transferred as pre-emptive measures to dispel any apprehensions of administration being biased or perceived to be compromised,” the EC said in a statement here.
While Sonitpur SP Sushanta Biswa Sarma is the brother of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Bhatinda SSP Harmanbir Singh Gill is the brother of Congress MP Jasbir Singh Gill.
Under the directive, all respective State governments have been instructed to promptly issue the transfer orders and submit a compliance report to the Commission.
The decision on transfers was taken after the Commission convened a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu.
On March 18, within 48 hours of announcing the poll schedule, the Election Commission had ordered the removal of a host of senior officials in various States, including the home secretaries of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand as well as the West Bengal Director-General of Police Rajeev Kumar.
The transfers, according to the Commission, is part of its efforts to maintain a level-playing field and ensure the integrity of the electoral process.
The poll body said the non-cadre district magistrates (DMs) and superintendent of police (SPs) have been shunted out as the posts are meant for IAS and IPS officers.
The EC said it has adopted a tough stance against posting of non-cadre officers at leadership positions by transferring eight non-cadred SPs/SSPs and five non-cadred DMs in Punjab, Odisha, Gujarat and West Bengal.
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