A day after Cabinet expansion and appointing Gaurav Yadav as officiating state police chief, the Aam Aadmi Party led Punjab Government on Tuesday carried our mass transfers — eight IPS officers, 324 DSP level officers, five IAS officers including appointing 1989-batch IAS officer Vijay Kumar Janjua as Chief Secretary.
Janjua has been appointed the state’s administrative head replacing 1990-batch IAS officer Anirudh Tewari, who has now been posted as Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration (MGSIPA) Director-General relieving Jaspreet Talwar.
Other than holding the charge of Chief Secretary to the Government of Punjab, Janjua has also been appointed the Principal Secretary, Department of Personnel and Vigilance in place of Anirudh Tewari. Earlier, he was posted as Special Chief Secretary, Jails; and in addition Special Chief Secretary, Elections.
The transfers came a day after the government appointed Gaurav Yadav as officiating DGP as the state police chief VK Bhawra proceeded on two-month leave, besides seeking central deputation. It has been learnt that the Government was considering to replace Bhawra as police chief in the wake of a series of law and order incidents, especially Sidhu Moosewala’s killing.
However, Tewari’s transfer as Chief Secretary has taken everyone by surprise. It is believed that Tewari, who had been appointed to the top post by the former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi during his tenure, has succeeded in making inroads in the current regime too.
It is believed that Janjua has been chosen on the basis of his seniority. The only officers senior to him are Arun Goel and Vini Mahajan—who are currently on central deputation, besides Anjali Bhawra and Ravneet Kaur.
Tewari, a 1990-batch officer, had superseded five of his senior officers, when he was appointed Chief Secretary in September last year. Known to be an officer with a clean image, Tewari has served on several significant posts.
The large-scale administrative reshuffle also comes close on the heels of the ruling party defeat in recently-concluded Sangrur Lok Sabha byelections. It is believed that the AAP led Punjab Government wanted to do a course correction by filling up vacant cabinet berths, reallocating portfolios, and then carrying out a massive bureaucratic reshuffling exercise.
JATINDER AULAKH IS NEW INTELLIGENCE CHIEF
Making changes at the top in the Punjab Intelligence Department, Punjab Government on Tuesday shunted out the head of the intelligence wing DGP Prabodh Kumar, replacing him with IG Jatinder Aulakh. Notably, Aulakh’s promotion as ADGP was due in January this year.
Aulakh has served as SSP in different districts for over nine years and as Commissioner in Amritsar and Ludhiana. He remained IG at Patiala and Ferozepur Zones. The state intelligence wing had faced severe criticism recently not just because of the killing of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala but also the rocket propelled grenade (RPG) attack on the state’s intelligence headquarters in Mohali district which was seen as a major failure to anticipate and prevent terror attacks in Punjab.
TOTAL FIVE IAS TRANSFERRED
Apart from Janjua and Tewari, three more senior IAS officers have been replaced. KAP Sinha has been posted as Additional Chief Secretary, Food Processing, besides holding the charge of Jail and Election. Ajoy Sharma will be the Health secretary. He will also have the charge of Finance Secretary and Financial Commissioner, Taxation. Kumar Rahul has been given the charge of General Administration and Coordination along with Employment Generation and Training.
EIGHT IPS, 324 DSP LEVEL OFFICERS TRANSFERRED
The transfer orders issued by the State Government in the evening, also include other DGPs, who being senior to the incumbent officiating DGP Gaurav Yadav (head of police Force), cannot be posted directly under him. The 1988-batch IPS officer Prabodh Kumar has been posted as the Special DGP Punjab State Human Rights Commission, in place of Praveen Kumar Sinha whose posting orders will be issued separately. Sanjeev Kalra, 1989-batch officer, has been appointed Special DGP Punjab Home Guards, Chandigarh, against the vacant post. 1992-batch Dr Sharad Satya Chauhan has been appointed Punjab Police Housing Corporation’s chairman-cum-managing director on his promotion in the rank of Special DGP, replacing Sanjeev Kalra.
Another 1992-batch officer Harpreet Singh Sidhu has also been promoted in the rank of Special DGP and will look after the charge of Special DGP STF in addition to Special DGP Prisons. His batch-mate Kuldeep Singh would look after the charge of Special DGP Internal Vigilance Cell upon his promotion. 1994-batch Sudhanshu Srivastava has been posted as ADGP Security, while 1997-batch Jatinder Singh Aulakh will look after the work of ADGP Intelligence in the rank of IG.
Besides, as many as 324 DSP/ASP-level officers have also been transferred across the state.
SR. JOURNALIST PANNU APPOINTED MEDIA RELATIONS DIRECTOR
Bhagwant Mann Government has appointed senior journalist Baltej Singh Pannu as Media Relations director. Having a long experience as a journalist at national and international level, Pannu will look after the media relations of the State Government with media organisations in India and abroad.
