In a major bureaucratic reshuffle in the police department, as many as 11 Indian Police Service (IPS) officers were transferred in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday. The senior police officers in several districts including Prayagraj, Bulandshahr, Mathura, Meerut, Barabanki and a few others have been changed.
Here's the late-night reshuffle list:
- Neelabja Chaudhary, Additional Director General of Police, ATS, Lucknow, has been appointed as the Additional Director General of Police, CID, Lucknow.
- Ajay Kumar Mishra, Police Commissioner of Ghaziabad Police Commissionerate, has been appointed as Inspector General of Police, Prayagraj Range, Prayagraj.
- J Ravindra Goud, Police Commissioner of Agra Police Commissionerate, has been appointed as the Police Commissioner of Ghaziabad Police Commissionerate.
- Deepak Kumar, Inspector General of Police, Agra Range, has been appointed as the Police Commissioner of Agra Police Commissionerate.
- Prem Kumar Gautam, Inspector General of Police, Prayagraj Range, has been appointed as the Inspector General of Police, ATS, Lucknow.
- Shailesh Kumar Pandey, Deputy Inspector General/Senior Superintendent of Police, Mathura, has been appointed as the Inspector General of Police, Agra Range.
- Anil Kumar, Senior Superintendent of Police, Bulandshahr, has been appointed as the Senior Superintendent of Police, Mathura.
- Dinesh Kumar Singh, Superintendent of Police, Barabanki, has been appointed as the Senior Superintendent of Police, Bulandshahr.
- Premchand, Superintendent of Police, Police Recruitment and Promotion Board, Lucknow, has been appointed as Commandant, 6th Battalion PAC, Meerut.
- Amit Vijayvargiya, Superintendent of Police, Bahraich, has been appointed as the Superintendent of Police, Barabanki.
- Suraj Kumar Rai, Commandant, 6th Battalion PAC, Meerut, has been appointed as the Superintendent of Police, Bahraich.
Ghaziabad Police Commissioner transferred amid tussle with BJP MLA
Notably, Ghaziabad Police Commissioner Ajay Mishra has been transferred amidst his ongoing tussle with BJP MLA Nand Kishore Gurjar from the Loni constituency. According to sources, the tensions between the two public figures had been escalating for some time. The conflict between MLA Gurjar and Commissioner Mishra intensified following an incident during a "Kalash Yatra" in the Loni area on March 20. Police had attempted to halt the procession on the grounds that it was being carried out without proper permission. However, Gurjar vehemently denied this, claiming that the necessary permissions were in place. During the scuffle that ensued, the police resorted to a lathi charge, and in the chaos, MLA Gurjar's kurta was torn, sources added.
While the "Kalash Yatra" was eventually allowed to continue, followed by the "Ram Katha" event until March 28, Gurjar had declared that he would continue to wear his torn kurta and remain barefoot in protest until action was taken against the commissioner. The tensions grew further as MLA Gurjar accused Commissioner Mishra of corruption and of being involved in illegal activities like cow slaughter. This prompted a larger public outcry. On April 13, in support of the MLA, the Gurjar community even planned to meet with the Prime Minister, though this was postponed following intervention from senior BJP leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti.