Ahead of the eight phased assembly elections in West Bengal, the Election Commission of India (ECI) issued an order to Mamata Banerjee led-West Bengal government for immediate removal of the current DGP, Mr. Virendra. The letter was issued on Tuesday 9 March.
The incumbent top official of the state will be replaced by 1987 batch IPS officer P. Nirajnayan, as per the letter issued to the Chief Secretary of West Bengal Alapan Bandyopadhyay. Mr. Virendra, a 1985 batch IPS officer, took charge as DG & IGP of West Bengal on May 31, 2018.
The Commission also specifically instructed the Chief Secretary to not assign any election-related post to the IPS officer. The eight phased legislative assembly election for 294 seats in West Bengal will be held from 27 March to 29 April 2021.