Ranchi, July 27: In what is being seen as a pre-poll shake up in the police set-up, the government today transferred as many as 22 IPS officers, including superintendents of 10 districts.
Ranchi’s senior superintendent of police and as well as the city superintendent have been replaced. The police chiefs of East Singhbhum, Koderma, Chaibasa, Dumka, Godda, Simdega, Hazaribagh, Dhanbad and Sahebganj districts have been shifted.
Ranchi SSP M.V. Rao will be replaced by Anurag Gupta, now the Hazaribagh police superintendent. Rao has been made deputy inspector-general (provision) with the Jharkhand Armed Police (JAP).
Ranchi’s city superintendent Ashish Batra will replace Gupta in Hazaribagh. Batra’s place will be taken by Suman Gupta, who is now with the CID.
West Singhbhum police chief Anil Palta has been sent back to Bokaro in the same capacity. He was transferred from Bokaro a few months ago, soon after the Election Commission executed the model code of conduct. Palta will be replaced by Navin Kumar.
Pravin Kumar, who has been waiting for posting after the Saranda ambush, has been made Sahebganj SP.
Bokaro SP R.K. Mallik will again have to pack his bags, this time headed for Dumka. Ever since his return from Kosovo a few months ago, he has been shuttling from one place to another.
Dhanbad’s Sanjay Anand Latekar will be the next police superintendent of East Singhbhum. Arun Oraon, whom Latekar replaces, will join the Jharkhand Armed Police. Koderma SP Ajay Kumar Singh will take charge in Dhanbad. His place will be taken by Ram Laxman Singh.
M.K. Mishra will head the police in Simdega and Basant Singh will be the new chief of the Godda force.
DIG (special branch) Neeraj Sinha has been made Hazaribagh DIG. Dumka DIG A.K. Sinha will be the new IG (rail).
Sources said the shake-up was expected as chief minister Arjun Munda has made it clear that non-performing officers will be shown the door.
“He is no more ready to oblige Yashwant Sinha and Babulal Marandi by giving cream posts to their loyalists in the bureaucracy,” said an officer in the chief minister’s secretariat.
