KOLKATA, March 13 -- The West Bengal government on Thursday transferred out Darjeeling district magistrate Manish Mishra, replacing him with Sunil Agarwala, who was posted as the special secretary in the north Bengal development department.

The government's decision to move out Mishra just months after his appointment as district magistrate comes against the backdrop of a controversy over an alleged protocol breach during President Droupadi Murmu's visit to north Bengal on March 7.

On Saturday, Murmu expressed disappointment over the change of venue for the 9th International Santhal Conference from Bidhannagar in Darjeeling district's Phansidewa block, to Gosainpur near Siliguri 25km away. Murmu said the change in venue limited particip...