Nandigram police station officer in-charge replaced day before bypoll

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The Election Commission on Monday (October 5, 2026) replaced the officer-in-charge of Nandigram police station, a day before the bypoll to the Assembly Constituency in West Bengal's Purba Medinipur district, a senior official said.

Debashis Sarkar was appointed in place of incumbent Ajay Kumar Mishra, he said.

The replacement came after Opposition parties complained to the Election Commission, alleging that Mishra was close to the ruling party. Mishra had been posted as the IC of Nandigram police station ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.

Mr. Sarkar currently serves as the traffic inspector in Tamluk and also as the IC of the Cyber Crime police station. When contacted, Mr. Sarkar said he had just learnt about the change and was yet to receive the formal order.

"I have just heard the news. I have not received the order copy yet. I was in Nandigram for traffic arrangements as Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari is scheduled to come here to cast his vote tomorrow. That is when I learnt about it," Mr. Sarkar said.

Polling will be held on Tuesday (October 6) in Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly constituencies, with counting scheduled for October 9.

The Nandigram bypoll was necessitated after Adhikari, who won the seat in the 2026 Assembly elections, retained the Bhabanipur seat in south Kolkata and vacated Nandigram.

Similarly, the Rejinagar seat fell vacant after Humayun Kabir, who had won both Rejinagar and Naoda in the 2026 polls, retained Naoda and gave up Rejinagar.

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