ECI suspends police officer for failing to tackle BJP-Trinamool Congress clashes

In the first of this election season in West Bengal, the Election Commission (ECI) on Friday, March 27, 2026, ordered the immediate suspension of Inspector-in-Charge of Basanti Police Station Avijit Paul for his alleged failure to handle the BJP-Trinamool Congress clashes on March 26, according to a notification issued by the poll panel.

The survey panel called it “serious negligence and dereliction of duty” by the officer.

Many people, including police personnel, were injured in the clash that broke out in Basanti Bazar of Baruipur Police District and nine people have been arrested so far for their alleged involvement in the incident.

“It was observed that the officer did not make adequate police arrangements despite having prior knowledge of the public program of the two political parties,” the statement said.

The ECI also punished the officer for not deploying central forces even though they were available.

“CAPF has been made available for the last few days. Despite this, he has not made a request to CAPF for maintenance of law and order. This reflects his serious negligence and dereliction of duty,” the statement said.

The commission ordered that Paul be “suspended with immediate effect” and a ministerial investigation was launched against him.

The ECI replaced Mr. Paul with Inspector Prabir Ghosh from the Enforcement Branch.

According to the notification, the State Chief Secretary has been asked to ensure immediate compliance and submit a report.