Bengal govt reassigns 19 IPS officers shifted by Election Commission

The West Bengal government on Wednesday (March 18, 2026) reassigned 19 IPS officers who were earlier removed from their posts by the Election Commission, placing them in new roles outside the election process.

The move was taken in line with the Commission’s directive that none of these officers should be given any election-related responsibilities during the ongoing Model Code of Conduct.

Among key changes, Indira Mukherjee (IPS:2013:WB), who was serving as Deputy Commissioner (Central) in Kolkata Police, has been posted as Special Superintendent in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

Rajeev Mishra (IPS:1996:WB), earlier ADG South Bengal, has been shifted as ADG (Reform and Coordination), while Praveen Kumar Tripathi (IPS:2004:WB), former Barrackpore Police Commissioner, has been appointed Inspector General in the Special Task Force (STF).

In a notable development, Sunil Kumar Choudhary (IPS:2004:WB), who was removed as Police Commissioner of Asansol-Durgapur, has been assigned the same responsibility again.

Similarly, Sukesh Kumar Jain (IPS:2005:WB), earlier IG North Bengal, has been posted as IG in the Intelligence Branch (IB). Akash Magharia (IPS:2009:WB) and Koteswara Rao (IPS:2011:WB), removed as Police Commissioners of Howrah and Chandannagar respectively, have been appointed as Deputy Inspector Generals in the IB.

At the mid-level, six officers—Joby Thomas (IPS:2012:WB), Abhijit Banerjee (IPS-SPS:2013), Amandeep (IPS:2014:WB), Kamnashis Sen (IPS:2014:WB), Dhritiman Sarkar (IPS:2014:WB) and Hossain Mehedi Rahman (IPS:2016:WB)—have been appointed as Special Superintendents in the Intelligence Branch after being removed from district SP posts.

Further, the removed Superintendents of Police—Parijat Biswas (IPS-SPS:2013), Bishop Sarkar (IPS:2014:WB), Sandeep Karra (IPS:2016:WB), Arish Bilal (IPS:2016:WB) and Palash Chandra Dhali (IPS:2017:WB)—have been appointed as SPs in the State Police Special Task Force.

In another posting, Priyabrata Roy (IPS:2014:WB), former SP of Barasat, has been appointed Deputy Commissioner (Traffic) in Kolkata Police.

Meanwhile, Laxmi Narayan Meena (IPS:1998:WB) will continue as ADG (Prisons) and has been given additional charge of ADG (Records Bureau).

The reshuffle reflects the state government’s effort to comply with the Election Commission’s restrictions while ensuring administrative continuity during the election period.