The Election Commission of India (ECI) removed Rajiv Kumar from the post of DGP of the state, leading to the appointment of IPS officer Vivek Sahay as his successor. This decision was made by the poll panel within 48 hours of announcing the Lok Sabha election schedule.
A 1988-batch IPS officer, Sahay previously served as the Commandant General (Home Guards) and Director General. He was also in charge of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s security until he was suspended by the poll panel in 2021 following an accident during the Assembly election campaign, resulting in Mamata's leg injury.
According to ECI sources, complaints against Kumar from opposition political parties prompted the poll panel's decision to remove him.
Kumar, who assumed the role of DGP last December, has been reassigned to the Information and Technology department, according to sources at the state secretariat Nabanna.
Earlier on the same day, the poll panel requested the state government to submit three names by 5 pm, with Sahay's name ranking highest on the list. The other two names included Sanjay Mukherjee and Rajesh Kumar.
While opposition political parties welcomed the decision, the ruling Trinamool Congress perceived it as a deliberate move by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government.
It is noteworthy that Rajiv Kumar, a 1989 batch IPS officer, has been involved in several controversies. In 2016, he served as the Commissioner of Kolkata police but was removed from the post amid allegations of phone tapping by opposition leaders just before the 2016 West Bengal Assembly elections.
On February 3, 2019, when the CBI raided Kumar’s residence regarding his alleged involvement in the Saradha ponzi scam, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee staged a dharna at Esplanade area in Central Kolkata in protest. The Supreme Court's order prohibiting "coercive" action against Kumar resulted in the end of Mamata's dharna.
Kumar previously served as the commissioner of Bidhannagar police in 2012, and following the emergence of the Saradha ponzi scam, he led a special task force to investigate the scam. In 2013, Kumar made headlines for arresting Saradha kingpin Sudipto Sen and his associates in Jammu and Kashmir.
