EC transfers 8 DMs, 12 SPs in 5 states

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India on Tuesday issued transfer orders for eight District Magistrates and 12 Superintendents of Police in five states. The decision was taken as part of the "regular review" by the Commission during a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu.

All the transferred officials have been asked to hand over the charge to their immediate junior officer and those shunted out will not be assigned any election duty till completion of the Lok Sabha polls.

The respective state governments have been directed to send a panel of names of IAS and IPS officers to the Commission and ones shortlisted will be appointed in place of those transferred out.

The EC in March had issued transfer orders for non-cadre officers holding key positions as District Magistrates (DM) and Superintendents of Police (SP) in four states—Gujarat, Punjab, Odisha, and West Bengal.

The Commission last month emphasized that the posts of DM and SP are typically held by officers from the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service, respectively.

The EC had reiterated its dedication to ensuring fairness in the electoral process, a sentiment echoed by CEC Rajiv Kumar.