GUWAHATI: In a move aimed at ensuring a level playing field in the ongoing Lok Sabha Elections 2024, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued transfer orders for non-cadre officers serving in key leadership positions as District Magistrates (DM) and Superintendents of Police (SP) in four states: Gujarat, Punjab, Odisha, and West Bengal.
Click here to join our WhatsApp channel
Additionally, the Commission has directed the transfer of SSP Bathinda in Punjab and SP Sonitpur in Assam due to their familial association with elected political representatives.
The decision, taken after a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, aims to uphold the integrity and impartiality of the electoral process. Under the directive, all respective state governments have been instructed to promptly transfer non-encadred officers from their current roles as DM and SP/SSP, effective immediately, and submit a compliance report to the Commission.
ALSO READ: PIB Fact Check Unit Designated As Centre's Fact-Checking Arm
The officers to be transferred include SPs of Chhota Udaipur and Ahmedabad Rural districts in Gujarat, SSPs of Pathankot, Fazilka, Jalandhar Rural, and Malerkotla districts in Punjab, DM of Dhenkanal and SPs of Deogarh and Cuttack Rural districts in Odisha, and DMs of Purba Medinipur, Jhargram, Purba Bardhaman, and Birbhum districts in West Bengal.