HT Correspondent
MORIGAON/ Guwahati, March 14: Morigaon deputy commissioner Leena Das and additional deputy commissioner Debajani Choudhury have been replaced with immediate effect by the Assam government on the recommendations of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
According to an order by the state personnel department on Saturday, home secretary Seema Rekha Bhuyan has been appointed as the new deputy commissioner of the Morigaon district.
Skill employment and entrepreneurship department secretary Hanif Noorani has been transferred as the additional deputy commissioner of Morigaon.
The order did not mention the reason for the sudden transfer of the two senior bureaucrats by the ECI.
However, some sources said that both the DC and ADC were from the Morigaon district following which the ECI recommended for their transfer ahead of the polls.
In a separate order, another senior Assam Civil Services (ACS) officer Dipsikha Dey has been suspended, as per the poll panel’s recommendation, for insubordination and negligence of duty.
In a separate case, Margherita circle officer Monsoon Barkakati has been suspended with immediate effect for allegedly getting an OBC certificate “through unfair means”.
Elaborating the reason for the action against Dey, the order dated March 12 said that the senior officer, who was serving as chief executive officer of Zilla Parishad in Cachar, was transferred to Sonitpur as the district development commissioner.
Accordingly, Dey handed over the charge as Cachar was her home district, but immediately applied for medical leave to “escape the task of joining at the new place” and also did not inform the Personnel Department on time the reason for her absence.
“When contacted over the phone, she insisted on proceeding with her leave knowing fully well the importance of key officers in the districts during the election,” the order stated.
When the matter was referred to the ECI, the apex poll body approved the proposal for disciplinary action against Dey.
Elections to the 126-member Assam assembly will be held in three phases on March 27, April 1 and April 6. (With PTI inputs)
