Bhubaneswar, Jan. 21: Senior IPS officer Yogesh Bahadur Khurania was today appointed as the commissioner of police for the twin cities.

He replaced R.P. Sharma, who has been posted as director, vigilance.

Additional director general (crime branch) Bijoy Kumar Sharma was elevated to the post of director general (DGP) and designated as special DGP (crime).

The 1990-batch IPS officer, Khurania, 50, is known for his efficiency and integrity. He has experience in anti-Naxal operations and had arrested Dara Singh alias Ravindra Kumar Pal, the prime accused in the murder of Australian missionary Graham Stuart Staines and his two minor sons, when he was Mayurbhanj SP.

He was also the deputy inspector general of police in charge of central range before the police commissionerate came into being.

On the other hand, during his tenure, Sharma successfully cracked the murder at Astaranga, killing of BJD leader Abhimanyu Sahoo and arrested self-styled spiritual leader Sarathi alias Santosh Raul and Sura baba alias Surendra Mishra.

Sharma, a 1986-batch officer, has successfully discharged his responsibility as the police commissioner of the twin cities since August 12, 2013. During his tenure, women-friendly pink auto-rickshaws were introduced in the city and CCTVs were installed at major intersections of the city for better crime control and effective traffic management.

One of the major achievements of Sharma has been checking organised crime in the twin cities where mafia gangs used to operate till a few years ago.

Cuttack and Bhubaneswar had also seen gang wars. Sharma was also successful in checking the arms racket by keeping a close watch on the inflow of unlicensed weapons from Bihar and Jharkhand.