Following a dramatic midnight overhaul of West Bengal’s top bureaucracy, the Election Commission (EC) has now turned its sights on the police administration. Under the leadership of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the EC has demanded a comprehensive list of SHOs and supervisory officers from violence-prone areas during the 2021 and 2024 elections. The deadline for submission is 6 PM today, March 16.

This move underscores the Commission’s ‘Zero Tolerance’ policy towards poll-related violence, which has plagued Bengal for years. The EC is specifically scrutinizing areas where lives were lost or properties destroyed, raising questions about police inaction.

Reliable sources suggest that identified officers may face severe consequences under Article 311 of the Constitution, including dismissal from service. The EC has sent a clear message: transfer is no longer the only punishment; departmental inquiries and legal actions await those who failed to uphold law and order during previous polls.