Bengal gets two new state information commissioners
Times of India | 20 March 2025
12 Kolkata: Bengal govt appointed Sanchita Kumar and Mriganko Mahato on Wednesday as the two new state information commissioners. CM Mamata Banerjee, along with parliamentary affairs minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, selected the two from a list of nine applicants. Kumar is the first woman information commissioner in the state.
Although leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari is part of the selection panel, he was absent from the meeting. Former DGP Virendra currently serves as the state chief information commissioner, while ex-IAS officer Naveen Prakash is the other. The newly appointed members will now join them.
Kumar is a former IRS officer who previously held the position of principal commissioner of income tax. Mahato is a former member of Public Service Commission. He also won the 2014 Lok Sabha seat from Purulia but is no longer associated with politics.
Announcing the appointments, the CM stated that as Kumar was the wife of DGP Rajeev Kumar — who was posted in the northeast in difficult terrain — she opted for premature retirement and consequently faced harassment from central govt. "Since Sanchita has extensive experience, along with Dr Mriganako Mahato, both have been selected," the CM said.