Kolkata

A day after announcing the schedule for the 2026 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, the Election Commission of India on Monday removed state DGP Peeyush Pandey and Supratim Sarkar from their posts, an official said.

The poll panel appointed senior IPS officer Siddh Nath Gupta as the new Director General of Police, replacing Pandey.

It also named Ajay Kumar Nand as the Commissioner of the Kolkata Police.

The commission said the decision followed a review of the state’s poll preparedness.

According to an official communication, the EC directed the state government to appoint Siddh Nath Gupta as Director General and Inspector General of Police (in-charge), while Natarajan Ramesh Babu was named Director General of Correctional Services.

The poll body also ordered the posting of Ajay Mukund Ranade as Additional Director General and IGP (Law and Order).

The EC directed that the orders be implemented immediately and asked the state government to submit a compliance report by 3 pm on Monday.

It also said the officers transferred out should not be assigned any election-related duties until the completion of the polls.

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The assembly elections in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with counting scheduled for May 4.