West Bengal govt appoints new director security as per ECI order

The West Bengal government on Monday appointed IPS officer Gyanwant Singh as the new director security in place of Vivek Sahay who was removed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the incident in Nandigram in which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was injured, an official said.

Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay held a meeting with Director General of Police P Nirajnayan and decided to appoint Singh, who was the additional director of security, for the post.

A communication about the state's decision was forwarded to the ECI which had directed the administration to appoint a new director of security by 1 pm on Monday, the official said.


The chief minister was injured on March 10 during campaigning in Nandigram constituency in Purba Medinipur district, from where she is contesting the assembly election.

The ECI suspended and removed Sahay "for grossly failing in discharge of his primary duty as Director Security to protect the Z+ protectee". The IPS officer was also suspended by the poll panel.