Patna, Dec. 4: The city is not an unknown territory for senior superintendent of police Manu Maharaaj but his challenges are new.

In the first major shake-up of the bureaucracy, the government last night transferred 11 IPS officers and 28 IAS officers, including 2005-batch officer Manu Maharaaj. For the third time now, he has been made Patna SSP. Tact, other officers said on condition of anonymity, is what Maharaaj would require to ensure Patna is smooth for him this time.

In his last stint at Patna SSP, Maharaaj was shunted out after the Dussehra stampede at Gandhi Maidan in 2014. Sources in the police headquarters said today that Maharaaj - who is expected to join either by late this evening or tomorrow - would have to be tactful unlike his predecessor Vikas Vaibhav.

"Maharaaj is not a new face in Patna and has captained the city police twice earlier. He became the Patna SSP on March 27, 2013 and remained in the post till October 7, 2014 but it ended badly for him. One of his main challenges this time, apart from crime control, will be to infuse confidence in himself. He has to be tactful while dealing with the political masters but also go guns blazing in case of any serious offence on part of any politician," said an officer at the police headquarters.

Vaibhav, a no-nonsense officer, had rattled the hornet's nest with his actions on politicians, including lodging an informatory against leaders for even referencing someone. Yesterday, the 2003-batch officer was made additional director of Bihar Administrative Reforms Mission Society and assistant to inspector-general (training).

An officer said: "Some of his (Vaibhav's) actions were not acceptable to the political masters. He directed the SHOs to lodge FIRs against anyone holding rallies or protest marches. He put a blanket ban on posters and banners during the Grand Alliance's Swabhiman Rally. He was removed for it on August 28, just days before the rally, and transferred as SP, Purnea. Maharaaj was called in (for his second stint as Patna SSP) but the Election Commission reinstated Vaibhav as on September 12. Maharaaj is not known to take such steps. For him, his instructions are to control the rising crime graph in the city and solve the cold cases which have not gone unsolved in Vaibhav's time. There at least 10 such cases."

The number of cognisable offences in Patna from January to September this year stands at 17,110 against 15,959 for the same period last year. Number of burglaries among other crimes have also gone up in the city.

So, to tackle all these well, sources claim Maharaaj needs a mix of aggression and flexibility to get the job done.

"Maharaaj's working style is different and his focus is always on creating a special cell with tough and young cops. They have no specific jurisdiction and operate anywhere they want to under the SSP. With criminal incidents piling up in Patna, Maharaaj has already instructed the cell to be revived and his old team brought in," the officer said.