All about former West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar, considered ’close’ to CM Mamata Banerjee

An hour after removing West Bengal Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar on Monday ahead of Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) appointed IPS officer Vivek Sahay as the next DGP.

The poll panel had asked the state secretary to provide a list of three eligible officers for Kumar's replacement by 5 pm today.

Apart from Rajeev Kumar, the ECI also ordered the removal of home secretaries of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, as well as the removal of Brihanmumbai municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, along with additional commissioners and deputy commissioners. Additionally, secretaries of the general administrative departments in Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh are also among those who have been removed.

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The ECI's actions are being considered as a part of its efforts to maintain a level playing field and ensure the integrity of the electoral process.

Who was Rajeev Kumar, former West Bengal DGP?

1) Known to be close to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Kumar is a 1989-batch IPS officer.

2) He was appointed as the DGP in December 2023 after the retirement of Manoj Malaviya.

3) He has served as the chief of Kolkata Police and Bidhannagar Police, before being appointed as West Bengal DGP. He also headed the Criminal Investigation Department, and Special Task Force, and served as the principal secretary of the Department of Information Technology and Electronics.

4) In 2019, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) accused Kumar of allegedly suppressing and destroying evidence in the investigation of the Saradha scam while leading a special investigation team set up by the state government to probe the matter.

5) After the CBI conducted searches on his house in the Saradha scam case, Mamata Banerjee sat on a two-day dharna in 2019. She called off the demonstration after the Supreme Court granted him protection from arrest by the CBI.

With agency inputs.