New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh DGP Bua Singh sought voluntary retirement on Wednesday after the Election Commission ordered restructuring of top police and civil administrative machinery in the state ahead of the crucial polls.
The DGP says he felt "humiliated" following the EC directive for his replacement ahead of the Assembly polls.
Earlier at a high-level meeting held in the Capital on Wednesday, the EC decided that the state machinery needed a reshuffle so as to ensure that the polls are held in a free and fair manner.
"I am feeling humiliated by the commission's decision... I have applied for voluntary retirement to the government," Singh said at a hurriedly-convened press conference soon after the EC asked Chief Secretary NC Bajpai for a panel of names for Singh's replacement by Thursday morning.
As a part of its initiative, the EC panel asked the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh to ensure the replacement of top bureaucrats including the Director General of Police, Bua Singh; Additional DGP (Law and Order), A C Sharma and Home Secretary Satish Kumar Aggarwal.
Etah District Magistrate Ram Kumar, Saharanpur District Magistrate; Kanpur Inspector General Rijwan Ahmed; Meerut Commissioner and Meerut SSP were also among the proposed names.
The EC asked the Chief Secretary to suggest a panel of names for replacing the officials by 1000 hrs (IST) on Thursday.
The Commission also appointed new DIG at Agra, DIG Meerut and Additional SP at Khiri. The incumbents in these places were transferred based on past indictment by the poll panel, EC sources said.
Interestingly, most of the top guns being replaced are from the Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav's camp and were present at a party function that was held in Lucknow last October.
The UP Assembly polls will be conducted in seven phases between April 7 and May 8. As many 62 constituencies will go to polls in the first phase.
In all likelihood, the polls will witness a four-cornered contest, with the incumbent Samajwadi Party making a valiant effort to retain power and the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party trying to emerge as the single largest party. The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress will be the two other main contenders in the race.
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