In a first this election season in West Bengal, the Election Commission on Friday ordered the immediate suspension of Basanti Police Station Inspector-in-Charge Avijit Paul for allegedly failing to tackle BJP-TMC clashes on March 26, according to a notice issued by the poll panel.

The poll panel described it as "serious negligence and dereliction of duty" on the part of the officer.

Several people, including police personnel, were injured in the clash at Basanti Bazar under Baruipur Police District, and nine people have been arrested so far for their alleged involvement.

"It has been observed that the officer failed to make adequate police arrangements despite having prior information regarding a public programme of two political parties," the notice said.

Sourced by TT Online

The ECI also pulled up the officer for not deploying central forces despite their availability.

"The CAPF has been made available for the last few days. Despite this, he did not requisition CAPF for maintenance of law and order. This reflects serious negligence and dereliction of duty on his part," it said.

The Commission directed that Paul be "placed under suspension with immediate effect" and departmental proceedings initiated against him.

The EC replaced Paul with Inspector Prabir Ghosh of the Enforcement Branch (EB).

The state's chief secretary was asked to ensure immediate compliance and submit a report, according to the notice.