Guwahati: Kuladhar Saikia, a 1985 batch IPS officer, was on Wednesday named Assam's new director-general of police who will take charge from Mukesh Sahay on Monday.

Saikia, a Sahitya Akademi awardee in 2015, is also credited with introduction of citizens' committees to improve police-public relations and project "Prahari" that managed to check witch-hunting. He has written 20 books.

Saikia started his career as a sub-divisional police officer in Tinsukia and served as superintendent of police in Nalbari, Karimganj, Goalpara, Guwahati, Sivasagar districts. He was deputy inspector-general in Kokrajhar and DIG in the CID. He was promoted as inspector-general of training and armed police and was the additional director-general of Bureau of Investigation into Economic Offences before being promoted to special director-general of police (law and order).

An alumnus of Delhi University's Ramjas College, Saikia did post-graduation from Delhi School of Economics and Phd from IIT Guwahati. He worked in the World Bank and National Police Mission and was a guest lecturer in IIM Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Ranchi and Rohtak.

The project Prahari introduced by him is now being taught in Harvard Business Review as a case study.

Implementing innovative ideas of young police officers would be one of his priorities, Saikia said on Wednesday.

He was awarded President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service and President's Police Medal.

Saikia will retire after 11 months.