By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 14 Sep: Uttarakhand Government shuffled some IPS officers late last evening. Haridwar SSP Ajai Singh, considered a trusted officer of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, has been brought in as SSP Dehradun, replacing DIG Daleep Singh Kunwar, who has now been transferred as DIG Intelligence. Kunwar is also considered to be close to CM Dhami but his transfer out was overdue since he was promoted many months ago as DIG. Sources add that Ajai Singh, who created an image of a very sharp officer as SSP Haridwar and ensured that crime cases were solved within a short time, while also ensuring a crackdown on the drugs trade has been brought for a special purpose.
Dehradun has recently seen a spate of serious crimes and robberies. The majority of the serious crime cases were solved by the Doon Police and, in this respect, Kunwar had a reasonably good record. Singh is known to be a no nonsense officer who leads by example.
Another IPS officer considered close to CM Dhami, Pramendra Dobhal, posted as SP Chamoli, has now been transferred as SSP Haridwar. Haridwar remains a sensitive district from the perspective of serious crimes and there is a need of a dynamic officer there. Dobhal has only recently been promoted from PPS cadre to IPS and, therefore, this high profile posting as SSP Haridwar will prove a challenging one.
IPS officer Nilesh Anand Bharne was also promoted to IG rank in January this year and, therefore, his transfer out as IG Kumaon was also overdue. He has been transferred as IG, P&M, at Police Headquarters in Dehradun. Bharne has been replaced by Dr Yogendra Singh Rawat as DIG Kumaon, who was so far posted as DIG Intelligence.
From the policing point of view, Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar are considered to be high profile posts. Apart from Dehradun and Haridwar, the government has also transferred SSP, Nainital, Pankaj Bhatt who has been appointed as Commandant, 46th Battalion of the PAC in Rudrapur. Bhatt has been replaced by Prahlad Meena as the Senior Superintendent of Police, Nainital. SP, Traffic, Haridwar, Rekha Yadav has also now been transferred as SP Chamoli in place of Pramendra Dobhal.
With just about seven to eight months left for the general elections, some more transfers are likely in the IAS and IPS cadres. Meanwhile, those transferred yesterday are likely to remain on their new positions till the elections at least.
