Ahead of Assembly polls, to be held next month, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed the Jharkhand government to remove acting DGP Anurag Gupta with immediate effect and hand over the charge to the next senior most IPS officer in the state.

It is learnt that ECI took cognisance of past complaints to recommend action against the DGP. Gupta was facing a series of complaints and the Commission had taken action against him during the previous elections..

In 2016, Gupta had allegedly abused his official position during alleged horse-trading in the Rajya Sabha Elections held earlier. 

He was, however, subsequently exonerated of all the charges levelled against him, with Central Administration Tribunal ( CAT) ordering his reinstatement, after a suspension period of almost two years.