After SP, three more police officers transferred in Birbhum ahead of Bengal’s 8th phase election

The Election Commission has ordered the transfer of three more police officers in Birbhum district, where voting is scheduled in the final, eighth phase on April 29. This includes two officers-in-charge. Earlier, the police superintendent had been transferred, leading to disgruntlement in the Trinamool Congress top leadership.

The officers transferred are Nalhati police station officer-in-charge Sheikh Mohammed Ali. He was COVID infected earlier and is now reportedly under treatment. Ranjit Bauri has been posted in his place. He was in charge of Joydeb outpost. Here, Biplan Dutta (who was earlier a sub-inspector in Rampurhat police station) has been posted in place of Ranjit Bauri.

Also, Debabrata Sinha, officer-in-charge of Dubrajpur police station, has been transferred out. Prasenjit Dutta has been brought to the police station in his place. Sinha has not yet been given a new posting.

Earlier, the EC had put Nagendra Nath Tripathy in charge of Birbhum ahead of phase five election. He is the same officer who was put in charge of Nandigram during the second phase of polls on April 1, when voting was held in the second phase. The EC had then transferred four police officers – including Birbhum SP Miraj Khalid and made Tripathi the SP Birbhum.

On poll day in Nandigram, Banerjee sat inside a booth for nearly two hours as BJP and Trinamool Congress workers clashed outside. She alleged that the BJP was rigging some booths and the matter had been raised with the Election Commission. Sitting on a wheelchair Banerjee called up Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar to inform him about the situation. Later, IPS officer Nagendra Nath Tripathi, who was deputed by the EC in Nandigram, went to the booth along with Election Commission officials to the CM and spoke with her.

In 2015, Tripathi was sent on compulsory leave by Banerjee for slapping a sweet shop owner during the municipal polls in Kolkata.