 "IPS Vivek Sahay has been appointed the new DGP of West Bengal. PTI")
Hours after the Election Commission dismissed West Bengal’s director general of police (DGP) Rajeev Kumar, IPS officer Vivek Sahay was appointed to the post on Monday.
Earlier today, the poll body, to ensure a level playing field in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, ordered the removal of the home secretaries of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand along with DGP Kumar.
Sahay was appointed by the Governor of West Bengal.
The EC’s move follows the announcement of Lok Sabha election dates which are slated to begin on April 19 and will be held in seven phases.
Who is Vivek Sahay?
Sahay, a 1988-batch IPS officer, was the Director General and Commandant General (Home Guards).
Why was Kumar removed?
Kumar, who was appointed as the state DGP last December, has been at the centre of many controversies. In the 2016 Assembly polls, Opposition leaders had accused Kumar, who was the Kolkata police chief at the time, of tapping their phones.
The ex-DGP has been moved to the Information and Technology department, a “non-election” related assignment, and, as an interim arrangement.
The decision to shift Kumar was taken as the officer was removed earlier too from active election management-related duty during the 2016 assembly election in the state and in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, poll panel sources pointed out.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIn 2019, the Central Bureau of Investigation had knocked on Kumar’s door in connection to the Saradha chit fund scam.