Bengal govt effects major police reshuffle before assembly polls

The West Bengal government onSaturday appointed Soumen Mitra as the new commissioner ofKolkata Police and transferred incumbent Anuj Sharma asadditional director general of the state CID, a stategovernment order said.

With assembly elections in West Bengal due in April-May, the state government has ordered the transfer of 22 IPSofficers, including the commissioners of four policecommissionerates, and two WBPS officers at one go.

Jawed Shamim will be the new additional directorgeneral, law and order, of the West Bengal Police, taking overfrom Gyanwant Singh, the order said.

Mitra has been holding the post of ADG, Training, ofWest Bengal Police, while Shamim is special commissioner I ofKolkata Police.

Singh will be the new ADG, armed police, of the state.

The Commissioners of Howrah, Bidhannagar andBarrackpore Police Commissionerates were also changed and CSudhakar, Supratim Sarkar and Ajay Kumar Nand will replaceKunal Agarwal, Mukesh and Manoj Kumar Verma respectively.

Kunal Agarwal will be the new DIG, Midnapore range, asper the order, which said that ''these appointments are made inthe interest of public service''.

S N Gupta will take over as the new ADG, South Bengal,while Manoj Kumar Verma has been appointed IGP of statecounter insurgency force.

Tanmay Ray Chaudhuri has been appointed additionalcommissioner of Kolkata Police, while Mukesh will be the newDIG, Barasat range, it said.