Patna: The Bihar government has carried out a major reshuffle of the Indian Police Service (IPS), transferring 17 officers and assigning additional charge to another. The changes include new superintendents of police (SPs) for Siwan and Rohtas and come shortly after the transfer of 17 district magistrates across the state.
The reshuffle assumes particular significance in Siwan and Bhojpur, where senior district officials had recently come under scrutiny following controversial incidents.
Bharat Soni appointed Siwan SP
In Siwan, Bharat Soni, a 2019-batch IPS officer who was previously posted in Nalanda, has been appointed the new Superintendent of Police. He replaces Puran Kumar Jha.
The change follows an incident involving firing during a student protest in Siwan in which an AK-47 was reportedly used. The episode had triggered scrutiny of the district administration and police. Earlier, District Magistrate Vivek Ranjan Maitreya was removed from his post following the incident.
Bhojpur SP transferred to Rohtas
Bhojpur SP Mr. Raj has been transferred and appointed SP of Rohtas. He had been under scrutiny following the Bharat Tiwari encounter case, in which Bharat Tiwari’s brother had alleged that the police officer threatened him to withdraw the case.
The government had earlier transferred Bhojpur District Magistrate Tanay Sultania as part of the administrative reshuffle. Manoj Kumar Meena has been appointed as the new DM of Bhojpur.
Key IPS postings
Among the major changes announced by the government are:
- Anil Kumar, a 2010-batch IPS officer and former DIG, Finance and Technical Services, has been appointed DIG, Prohibition and NNTF.
- Mrityunjay Kumar Chaudhary, a 2010-batch IPS officer formerly with the Vigilance and Investigation Bureau, has been appointed DIG, Civil Defence.
- Rajiv Ranjan-2, a 2012-batch IPS officer and former DIG, Human Rights, has been appointed DIG, Special Surveillance Unit.
- Ajay Kumar Pandey, formerly DIG, Prohibition and NNTF, has been appointed DIG, Finance and Technical Services.
- Amir Javed, formerly DIG, Weaker Sections and Women’s Cell in the CID, has been appointed DIG, Vigilance and Investigation Bureau.
- Mithilesh Kumar, formerly SP, Economic Offences Unit, has been appointed Commandant, BSAP-9, Jamalpur.
- Sushil Kumar, formerly DIG, Legal Affairs and Rules, has been given additional charge of DIG, Human Rights.
The latest IPS reshuffle follows a broader administrative reorganisation by the Bihar government.
Major IAS reshuffle also underway
A day before the IPS transfers, the government transferred 17 district magistrates across Bihar. The move was followed by a large-scale reshuffle of senior IAS officers late Monday night.
Pankaj Kumar has been appointed Principal Secretary of the Home Department, while Rajesh Kumar has been appointed Commissioner of the Patna Division.
The government has also redistributed responsibilities among senior officers in departments including Finance, Rural Development, Education, Vigilance, Social Welfare, Public Health Engineering and Prohibition.
The successive IAS and IPS reshuffles represent one of the state’s most significant administrative reorganisations in recent days.
