Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Days ahead of Munger polls, EC shifts Barh police officer

ASP Lipi Singh, who is the daughter of senior JD(U) leader and Rajya Sabha member RCP Singh, is the third police officer in Bihar who has been removed from the post on ECI’s orders.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has ordered the removal of sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) of Barh sub division, Lipi Singh, ahead of the polling in the Munger parliamentary constituency on April 29, when the fourth phase of Lok Sabha polls will be held.

Three police officers in Bihar have been removed from their post on ECI’s orders during the Lok Sabha elections so far. (Ravindra Joshi / HT Photo)

Assistant SP Lipi Singh, a 2016-batch IPS officer, has been transferred to the anti-terror squad. DSP (traffic) of Bhagalpur, R K Jha, has replaced her at Barh, which is a part of Patna district but falls in the Munger parliamentary constituency.

Singh, who is the daughter of senior JD(U) leader and Rajya Sabha member RCP Singh, is the third police officer in the state who has been removed from the post on ECI’s orders.

The action follows complaints of bias by opposition parties. A delegation of grand alliance led by Neelam Devi, Congress’s candidate from Munger and wife of Independent MLA Anant Singh, had submitted a memorandum to the ECI alleging that some state government officials, including Lipi Singh, were acting as agents of ruling JD(U) candidate Rajeev Ranjan Singh alias Lallan Singh.

Following the allegations, the ECI had sought a detailed report from Patna DM Kumar Ravi in this regard. “We have received the order regarding removal of the Barh SDPO from the Election Commission,” said a senior official of the state home department.

Earlier, Samastipur DM Chandra Sekhar was removed from the post on April 3 while Sitamarhi DM Dr Ranjit Singh was removed on April 9.