In one of largest reshuffles, West Bengal transfers 527 officers amid SIR rollout
Kolkata (PTI): The West Bengal government on Monday announced the transfer of over 500 bureaucrats amid the rollout of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.
In one of the largest reshuffles on a single day, 67 IAS and 460 West Bengal Civil Services (Executive) officers were transferred, according to a slew of notifications issued by the Personnel and Administrative Reforms (P&AR) Department.
The transfer notifications were dated October 24, even as they were uploaded on the department's website in batches before and after the announcement of SIR by the Election Commission.
Notifications for transfers of 61 IAS and 145 WBCS (Executive) officers were uploaded during the first half of the day, while another set of orders, notifying the postings of six IAS and 315 WBCS (Executive) officers, was made available shortly after the EC's briefing.
Among the officers transferred were 14 district magistrates (DM), multiple special secretaries, several officers-on-special duty (OSDs) and a bunch of ADMs and SDOs from both IAS and WBCS services.
Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) MD Shashank Sethi was made the new DM of North 24 Parganas, while Murshidabad DM Rajarshi Mitra replaced him.
Kolkata Municipal Corporation's commissioner Dhaval Jain was made the DM of Birbhum, while South 24 Parganas DM Sumit Gupta was posted in his place.
Haldia Development Authority CEO Kontam Sudhir was made the DM of Purulia.
Science and Technology Department Secretary Godala Kiran Kumar was named the divisional commissioner of Medinipur, while Panchayat and Rural Development Department Special Secretary Kuhuk Bhushan was posted as DM of Kalimpong.
New district magistrates were also appointed in Cooch Behar, Murshidabad, Darjeeling, Malda, Jhargram, Purba and Paschim Medinipur, Hooghly and Dakshin Dinajpur.
The officers are expected to play nodal roles in the SIR exercise, and it would become untenable for the state government to make further reshuffles without the authorisation of the EC once the schedule has been announced, an official said.
The opposition BJP shot a complaint letter to the Chief Election Commissioner and demanded the "immediate annulment of the irregular transfers done without ECI approval".
"The West Bengal Government has carried out a mass scale transfer of 235 officers today 27 October 2025, after the announcement of SIR by the ECI on 24 June 2025 vide Order no 23/ERS/2025. In these transfers, 17 DMs, 22 ADMs, 45 SDOs and 151 BDOs are also included, most of whom are will be involved in the SIR, which has already been announced," the complaint letter claimed.
While the BJP alleged that the transfers were an attempt by the Mamata Banerjee government to thwart the upcoming SIR exercise, the ruling TMC called it a mere "routine" exercise.
"CM Mamata Banerjee is sensing trouble for her party once this exercise is successfully completed and a large number of fake voters are deleted from the electoral rolls. She is, hence, trying everything in her hand to disturb the process by making such last-minute bulk transfers," BJP leader Sajal Ghosh alleged.
Rubbishing the accusation, TMC IT cell head Debangshu Bhattacharya said the BJP is "clutching at straws" to level wild allegations.
"Such transfers take place in the government as a routine measure across the year. There's no reason why one should draw a connection between this and the SIR announcement. This is opposition for opposition's sake," he said.
The EC will conduct phase two of the SIR in 12 states and Union Territories, including West Bengal -- where elections will be due early next year, between November and February.
The exercise will begin on November 4 and continue till December 4. The draft electoral rolls will be released on D
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
