It also directed the transfers of the Senior Superintendent of Police Bathinda in Punjab and the SP Sonitpur in Assam in view of their “kinship or familial association” with elected political representatives

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday issued transfer orders for non-cadre officers who are posted as District Magistrates (DMs) and Superintendents of Police (SPs) in Gujarat, Punjab, Odisha and West Bengal, citing its commitment to a level playing field in the Lok Sabha polls to be held from April to June.
It also directed the transfers of the Senior Superintendent of Police Bathinda in Punjab and the SP Sonitpur in Assam in view of their “kinship or familial association” with elected political representatives.
“The officials in these two districts have been transferred as pre-emptive measures to dispel any apprehensions of administration being biased or perceived to be compromised,” the Commission said.
According to an official, the ECI is continuing its strict crackdown by transferring bureaucrats with close ties to the ruling party in their respective states.
On March 18, the Commission ordered the transfer of the Director General Police of West Bengal and the Home Secretaries of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Besides the two mentioned above, the officers to be transferred are the SPs of Chhota Udaipur and Ahmedabad Rural districts in Gujarat, the SSPs of Pathankot, Fazilka, Jalandhar Rural and Malerkotla districts in Punjab, the DM of Dhenkanal and SPs of Deogarh and Cuttack Rural districts in Odisha, and the DMs of Purba Medinipur, Jhargram, Purba Bardhaman and Birbhum districts in West Bengal.
According to an EC press release, these decisions were taken after the Commission convened a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu.
The Commission has ordered all the respective state governments to promptly transfer the non-encadred officers from their current roles as DM and SP/SSP with immediate effect and submit a compliance report to the Commission.