The West Bengal government has ordered a sweeping reshuffle of the police top brass, transferring around 40 officers across the state, including nearly a dozen district Superintendents of Police (SPs) and several IPS officers in key strategic posts. The order, issued by the Home and Hill Affairs Department, comes at a time when the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is underway and political temperature is rising ahead of the next Assembly election cycle.
Key Changes in District Leadership
Among the most closely watched moves is the transfer of Soumyadip Bhattacharya, the SP of Purba Medinipur, who has now been posted as SP, Bankura, leaving the sensitive coastal district of Purba Medinipur temporarily without a named SP. Purba Medinipur is the stronghold of Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who had recently complained to the Election Commission alleging partisan policing and misuse of the law-and-order machinery.
Other significant changes include Avijit Banerjee moving from Purulia to take over as SP, Malda, while Vaibhav Tiwari, earlier SP, Bankura, has been posted as SP, Purulia. In North Bengal, Y. Raghuvamshi has been shifted from Alipurduar to become SP, Jalpaiguri, with Khandabahale Umesh Ganpat moving in the opposite direction to head the Alipurduar district police.
Intelligence and Commissionerate Posts Realigned
The reshuffle also extends to the state’s intelligence and urban policing units, with Dhritiman Sarkar, SP Paschim Medinipur, appointed as Senior Superintendent in the State Intelligence Branch. Senior officer Sachin, earlier in the Intelligence Branch, has been posted as Deputy Commissioner (New Town) under the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate, reflecting a focus on fast-growing urban and IT corridors.
In the Asansol–Durgapur Police Commissionerate, considered a politically sensitive industrial belt, Raiganj SP Md Sana Akhtar has been moved as Deputy Commissioner (West Zone), while Dr. Sonawane Kuldip Suresh has taken charge as SP, Raiganj Police District. Alongside IPS reshuffles, 19 West Bengal Police Service (WBPS) officers, including Additional SPs and SDPOs, have also been reassigned to new postings.
Political Backdrop and Government’s Stand
The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Suvendu Adhikari in the state, has linked the transfers to its complaints that some officers were allegedly working “like ruling party leaders” and influencing law-and-order decisions in favour of the Trinamool Congress. Adhikari recently wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner seeking that certain officers be removed from politically sensitive districts, particularly in Purba Medinipur and Nandigram.
Officials at the state secretariat, Nabanna, however, have described the exercise as a routine administrative step aimed at better management of law and order during the electoral roll revision and upcoming festival and campaign seasons. With 40 officers shifted across districts, commissionerates and intelligence units, the reshuffle is being seen as one of the most significant policing decisions taken by the Mamata Banerjee government in recent months.
