In a major rejig of the Uttar Pradesh Police, the state government on Friday named 1980-batch Indian Police Service officer Sulkhan Singh the new Director General of Police in place of Javeed Ahmad.
Ahmad has been made Director General of the Provincial Armed Constabulary. A dozen other senior police officers were also transferred.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also shunted out the powerful ADGP (Law and Order) Daljit Singh Chawdhary, who swaps his post with Economic Offences Wing ADGP Aditya Mishra. The EoW is considered a dumping ground for officials out of favour with the government.
It is the first police reshuffle after the Bharatiya Janata Party government assumed power on March 19.
Sulkhan Singh -- till now posted as Director General of Police (Training) -- is considered one of the finest and softspoken officers in Uttar Pradesh Police but many feel that the senior IPS officer was not given his due by successive Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party governments in the state.
The 59-year-old officer has just four months left before retirement.
Outgoing DGP Javeed Ahmad was posted by the previous Akhilesh Yadav government at the behest of SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav. He had superseded 15 police officers of the same rank to become the top cop in the state. Ahmad will retire in 2020.
DGP (Recruitment Board) Surya Kumar Shukla, who was also in the race for the top job, has retained his post but has been divested of the charge of DGP (Prosecution).
A 1986-batch IPS officer, Jawahar Lal Tripathi, has been removed as IGP (Intelligence) and made new DGP (Prosecution).
A 1984-batch IPS officer Alok Prasad, along with being DGP Homeguards, will hold the additional charge of DGP (Training) at the Police Headquarters.
A 1987-batch IPS officer Bhavesh Kumar Singh has been removed as ADGP (Security) and posted as the new ADGP (Prosecution). Vijay Kumar has been moved out of ATC Sitapur and named the new ADGP (Security).
IGP Alok Singh, who had been waitlisted, has been made the new IGP (PAC-Eastern Zone). IGP Navneit Sekeram incharge of the 1090 Women's Powerline, has been divested of the additional charge of IGP PAC (Central Zone).