J&K L-G government reshuffles 198 officers in 12 hours; NC smells a rat, seeks ECI intervention
This came a day after senior IPS officer Nalin Prabhat was appointed as Special DG of Jammu and Kashmir Police. He will assume the role of the force's chief following the retirement of R.R. Swain on September 30
In three separate orders, the Jammu and Kashmir administration transferred senior police officers with immediate effect. Representational file image.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The J&K Lieutenant Governor’s (LG) administration’s unprecedented reshuffle of at least 198 upper and middle-rung officers in 12 hours in the civil administration and police department on Friday raised many eyebrows, especially from the National Conference (NC).
J&K has been witnessing a major administrative revamp since Thursday (August 15, 2024) in the security set-up. IPS officer Nalin Prabhat has been appointed as the next Director General of Police (DGP) and Nitish Kumar has been appointed as the new CID chief.
Besides, the L-G administration, in a series of transfer orders, transferred 198 officers, which include five deputy commissioners and 10 Senior Superintendents of Police. 83 police officers have been reshuffled and posted to new a
This came a day after senior IPS officer Nalin Prabhat was appointed as Special DG of Jammu and Kashmir Police. He will assume the role of the force’s chief following the retirement of R.R. Swain on September 30.
The NC has termed these transfers politically motivated. “That the J&K administration had to call officers in the secretariat and police HQ to work on Independence Day to order this massive reshuffle tells me they had absolutely no clue that the ECI (Election Commission of India) would announce poll dates today. All the more reason that the ECI’s SVEEP should look at this transfer order from the prism of a free and fair poll. The NC suspects a biased intent on the part of the L-G administration,” NC vice president and former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah said.
NC general secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar said the move seems intended to “undermine the integrity of the electoral process, which restricts such transfers to prevent the ruling party from gaining an undue administrative advantage over the Opposition”.
“The LG government has strategically shaken up the entire administrative setup compromising the principles of free and fair elections. We call on the ECI to thoroughly investigate this blatant attempt and immediately suspend these orders’ implementation,” Mr. Sagar said. “It appears to have been orchestrated by a BJP-appointed LG to benefit his party and its allies,” he added.
The transfers came just hours before the ECI is likely to announce poll dates for several States like Maharashtra, Haryana and maybe UT of J&K too, by 3 p.m. on Friday (August 16, 2024).
Read Comments
- Copy link
- Telegram
READ LATER
Remove
SEE ALL
PRINT
Related Topics
Jammu and Kashmir
/
police
/
Jammu and Kashmir National Conference