A major reshuffle in the Jammu and Kashmir administration and police department, ahead of the anticipated assembly elections, has sparked controversy. The Centre-led administration and regional political parties in the Union Territory are at odds over the changes. Yesterday, the Jammu and Kashmir Police received a new Director General of Police (DGP), and today, over 30 police officers were transferred. With the Election Commission of India expected to announce the date for the assembly polls soon, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah has accused Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha of “biased intent” behind the transfer order.
In a post on the social media platform X, Abdullah wrote, “Why has a massive reshuffle been ordered in the police and administration since last evening and this morning, seemingly to preempt the Election Commission’s announcement? It appears to have been orchestrated by a BJP-appointed LG to benefit his party and its allies.”
The list of transfers includes DIG and SSP-level officers. The government has posted Nitish Kumar (IPS) as Head of CID with immediate effect. According to three separate orders, Nitish Kumar, IPS, ADGP CID, has been posted as Head of CID, relieving R. R. Swain, IPS DGP, J&K, of the additional charge of the post.
Abdullah further stated, “This move seems clearly intended to undermine the integrity of the electoral process, which restricts such transfers to prevent the ruling party from gaining an undue administrative advantage over the opposition. The LG government has strategically shaken up the entire administrative setup, compromising the principles of free and fair elections. We call on the @ECISVEEP to thoroughly investigate this blatant attempt and immediately suspend the implementation of these orders.”
“Why has a massive reshuffle been ordered in the police and administration since last evening, and today morning, seemingly to preempt the Election Commission’s announcement? It appears to have been orchestrated by a BJP-appointed LG to benefit his party and its allies.
This…
— JKNC (@JKNC_) August 16, 2024
Bhim Sen Tuti, IPS, IGP (Hqrs) PHQ, IGP PHQ with additional charge of IGP (POS) and IGP Traffic, has been posted as IGP (POS) with additional charge of IGP (Hqrs) PHQ, IGP (Telecom). Sunil Gupta, IPS, has been posted as Incharge IGP Crime, J&K, relieving Deepak Kumar, IPS, of the additional charge of the post, according to the order.
Sujit Kumar, IPS, has been posted as Incharge IGP Security, J&K, relieving M.K. Sinha, IPS, of the additional charge of the post. Vivek Gupta, IPS, has been posted as Incharge IGP Railways J&K, relieving S.J.M. Gillani, IPS, in charge of the railways wing.
M. Suleman Choudhary, IPS, has been posted as Incharge IGP Traffic. Dr. Ajeet Singh, IPS, has been posted as DIG Traffic Kashmir against an available vacancy. Dr. Vinod Kumar, IPS, has been posted as Incharge DIG Armed Jammu.
Maqsood-ul-Zaman, IPS, has been posted as Incharge DIG North Kashmir, Baramulla. Mubassir Latifi Ameer, IPS, has been posted as Incharge DIR (Pers) PHQ. Shiv Kumar, IPS, has been posted as DIG Jammu-Samba-Kathua Range. Ms. Rashmi Wazir, IPS, has been posted as DIG Security, J&K, against an available vacancy. Rajeshwar Singh, IPS, has been posted as Incharge DIG SIA.
21 other officers from various AGMUT cadres and JKPS were ordered to be shifted, including Gurinderpal Singh as SSP Baramulla, Nagpure Amod Ashok as SSP Udhampur, Amritpal Singh as SSP (Tech) CID Hqrs, Mumtaz Ahmed as SSP Poonch, Mohammad Aslam as SSP Doda (vice Javid Iqbal, who has been asked to await further postings at PHQ), Sandeep Gupta as AIG (Tech) PHQ, Anuj Kumar as CO IR-11, Ms. Tunushree as SP SIA Kashmir, Ananyat Ali Choudhary as SSP Shopian, Ms. Mohita Sharma as AIG (Prov) PHQ, Ms. Deepika as SSP Kathua, Gaurav Sikawar as SSP Reasi, Kulbir Singh as SSP Ramban, Joginder Singh as SSP Jammu, Ashok Kumar Sharma as CO 1 Border Battalion Jammu, Wasim Qadri as SSP Ganderbal, Yougal Kumar Manhas as SSP SIA Jammu, Tahir Geelani as AIG (Procurement) PHQ, Ms. Shaheen Wahid as SSP Telecom Jammu, Sandeep Bhat as Additional SP Udhampur, and Baljeet Singh as Additional SP Nowshera.
In the Jammu and Kashmir administration, several Special Secretaries, Deputy Commissioners, and SDMs were transferred as well. Shakeel Ul Rehman Rather, IAS, Deputy Commissioner, Bandipora, has been transferred and posted as Director, Floriculture, Parks, and Gardens, Kashmir. Mathora Masoom, JKAS, Director, Urban Local Bodies, Kashmir, has been transferred and posted as Special Secretary to the Government, Tourism Department.