In a significant administrative reshuffle following the controversy over President Droupadi Murmu’s visit to North Bengal, the West Bengal government has transferred Darjeeling District Magistrate (DM) Manish Mishra. According to the official notification from Nabanna, Mishra has been re-posted as the Special Secretary in the Home & Hill Affairs Department. Sunil Agarwala, a senior WBCS officer from the 1994 batch, has been appointed as the new District Magistrate of Darjeeling.

The transfer comes in the wake of a major protocol dispute during the President’s visit on March 7, where she expressed disappointment over administrative lapses and the sudden change of venue for the Santal Conference. Following these incidents, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had recently sought to bring Manish Mishra and the Siliguri Police Commissioner under central deputation. While the state government maintains that this is a routine administrative change, experts suggest the move is a tactical response to the Center’s intervention and the ongoing protocol row.