Ahead of the General Elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday issued transfer orders for three government officials of Odisha.
As per a release issued by the ECI, the commission ordered for transfer of Dhenkanal Collector and District Magistrate Manoranjan Mallick, Deogarh Superintendent of Police (SP) Ram Prasad Sahu and Cuttack Rural SP Mihir Kumar Panda.
The decision was taken after the commission convened a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu.
The State Government has been instructed by the ECI to promptly transfer the officers from their current roles with immediate effect and submit a compliance report to the commission.
“Taking forward its commitment for a level playing field in the ongoing Lok Sabha Elections 2024, the ECI today has issued transfer orders for non-cadre officers who are posted at leadership positions as District Magistrate (DM) and Superintendent of Police (SP) in four states namely Gujarat, Punjab, Odisha and West Bengal. Post of DM and SP in the district are encadred for officers from Indian Administrative and Indian Police Service respectively,” the ECI said in a Press statement.
Under the directive, all respective State Governments have been instructed to promptly transfer non-encadred officers from their current roles as DM and SP/SSP with immediate effect and submit a compliance report to the commission.
