Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh government has ordered a major police reshuffle involving 3 IPS officers and 54 Himachal Pradesh Police Service (HPPS) officers across the state.
The transfer and posting orders, issued by Chief Secretary Kamlesh Kumar Pant, include significant changes in district policing, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), cyber crime units, vigilance, anti-narcotics operations, armed police battalions and security wings.
The reshuffle also affects several senior officers posted in districts including Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Kangra, Bilaspur, Sirmaur, Hamirpur, Una, Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti.
Three IPS Officers Transferred
Among the IPS officers affected, Mayank Chaudhary (IPS:2019) has been shifted from his position as SP (Leave Reserve), Police Headquarters, Shimla, and appointed Commandant, 2nd Indian Reserve Battalion (IRBn), Sakoh, Kangra.
Amit Yadav (IPS:2019), who was serving as Commandant of the 2nd IRBn, Sakoh, has been transferred and posted as SP, Cyber Crime, CID, Shimla.
In another significant move, Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi (IPS:2012), who was serving as DIG, Traffic, Tourist and Railways, Shimla, has been relieved from the post. His services have been placed at the disposal of the Department of Personnel, Government of Himachal Pradesh.
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The IPS-level changes come alongside a much wider movement of HPPS officers aimed at strengthening specialised policing and field formations.
Major HPPS-Level Changes
Several senior HPPS officers have been given new responsibilities in security, intelligence, armed police and district policing.
Shiv Kumar (HPPS:2007) has moved from SP, Chief Minister’s Security, to SP, Security and Intelligence, Shimla.
Bhupinder Singh Negi (HPPS:2008) has been appointed Commandant, 1st Himachal Pradesh Armed Police Battalion, Junga.
Manmohan Singh (HPPS:2008) has been posted as Additional SP, Kullu, after serving at the Cyber Crime Police Station, Mandi.
Praveen Dhiman (HPPS:2008) has been shifted to Additional SP, CID, Mandi, from the Cyber Crime Police Station, Kangra.
Other 2008-batch officers moved in the reshuffle include Narinder Kumar, appointed Additional SP, Sirmaur, Nahan; Raj Kumar, posted as Additional SP (Leave Reserve), Police Headquarters, Shimla; Ajay Kumar-I, transferred from the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Sirmaur, to Additional SP, Una; and Rajinder Kumar, posted as Additional SP, 2nd IRBn, Sakoh.
Focus on Anti-Narcotics and Cyber Crime
A significant feature of the reshuffle is the strengthening of specialised units dealing with narcotics and cyber crime.
Surinder Kumar (HPPS:2009) has been appointed Additional SP, Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF), Kullu.
Ramesh Kumar Sharma (HPPS:2009) has been shifted to Additional SP, Solan, from ANTF, Shimla.
Yogesh Rolta (HPPS:2010) has been posted as Additional SP, ANTF, Shimla.
Sanjeev Kumar-I (HPPS:2010) has been appointed Additional SP, Kangra, while Sanjeev Kumar-II (HPPS:2010)has been transferred to the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Chamba.
Further strengthening the specialised policing setup, Bir Bahadur (HPPS:2011) has been appointed Additional SP, Cyber Crime Police Station, Mandi.
Santosh Kumar Sharma (HPPS:2011) has been posted as Additional SP, CID, Shimla, while Kuldeep Kumar (HPPS:2011) has been appointed Additional SP, Cyber Crime Police Station, Kangra.
Pratap Singh (HPPS:2012) has been posted as Additional SP, Bilaspur.
Vikas Kumar Dhiman (HPPS:2012) has been appointed Additional SP, Himachal Pradesh Institute of Police Studies, Kangra.
Hemant Kumar (HPPS:2012) has been posted as Commandant, Home Guards, Kullu.
DSP-Level Postings Across Districts
The reshuffle also includes a large number of postings at the DSP and SDPO levels.
Tajinder Kumar Verma has been posted as SDPO, Jawali, Kangra, while Amar Singh has been appointed DSP (Crime), CID, Shimla.
Manoj Kumar-II has been posted as DSP (HQ), Kullu, and Pratibha Chauhan as DSP (Leave Reserve), Police Headquarters, Shimla.
Sanjay Sharma has been appointed SDPO, Jawalamukhi, with additional charge of SDPO, Dehra.
Anil Kumar-IV has been posted as DSP, State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Police District Baddi.
At the field level, Ramakant Thakur has been appointed SDPO, Naina Devi Ji, Bilaspur, while Sher Singh has been posted as SDPO, Dadasiba, Police District Dehra.
Vikram Chauhan has been appointed DSP (HQ), Shimla, and Siddharth Sharma DSP (HQ), Sirmaur at Nahan.
Varun Patial has been posted as SDPO, Bhabanagar, Kinnaur, while Raj Kumar (2020 batch) has been posted as DSP (HQ), Hamirpur.
Mangat Ram has been appointed SDPO, Sangrah, Sirmaur, and Gauri Dutt SDPO, Theog, Shimla.
More Changes in Kullu, Una and Lahaul-Spiti
The reshuffle has also brought changes to several sensitive and geographically challenging police formations.
Ajay Kumar Bhardwaj has been posted as DSP (HQ), Solan.
Raj Kumar (2020 batch) has been appointed SDPO, Banjar, Kullu, while Kshma Dutt has been transferred as DSP, 1st IRBn, Bangarh, Una.
Vikrant Bonsra has been posted as SDPO, Manali, and Rajesh Kumar (2022 batch) as SDPO, Kangra.
In Lahaul-Spiti, Viri Singh has been appointed SDPO, Kaza, while Nisha Kumari has been posted as DSP (HQ), Keylong.
Hem Raj has been appointed DSP (HQ), Una, and Nitin Chauhan SDPO, Sundernagar, Mandi.
Further District-Level Appointments
Other postings include Rashmi Sharma, who has been appointed SDPO, Nadaun, Hamirpur.
Reeta Devi has been posted as Staff Officer in the office of the Inspector General of Police, Central Range, Mandi.
Vijay Kumar has been appointed DSP, 2nd IRBn, Sakoh, while Bharat Bhushan has been posted as DSP (Chief Security Officer), Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla.
Harish Kumar-I has been appointed SDPO, Barsar, Hamirpur.
Reshuffle Covers Key Policing Areas
The scale of the reshuffle indicates a broad administrative exercise covering both specialised policing and field-level law enforcement.
While the three IPS transfers involve key positions in the IRBn, cyber crime and Traffic, Tourist and Railways, the HPPS movements extend across CID, vigilance, anti-narcotics operations, security, armed police, Home Guards and district policing.
The reshuffle is particularly notable for the strengthening of cyber crime and anti-narcotics units, with officers being moved into specialised formations in Shimla, Mandi, Kangra and Kullu.
The changes also bring fresh leadership to several district-level formations and police headquarters positions across Himachal Pradesh.
