The Bihar government on Tuesday carried out a major reshuffle of IPS officers, transferring several SPs and SSPs and making changes to key police, vigilance and specialised assignments across the state.
The reshuffle covers officers from the 2010 to 2022 batches and includes postings in Prohibition, Vigilance, the Special Vigilance Unit (SVU), Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), Human Rights, Civil Defence and other important wings of the Bihar Police.
The most significant change is the removal of Puran Kumar Jha, a 2018-batch IPS officer, from his post as Siwan Superintendent of Police. Jha has been transferred to Bihar Police Headquarters in Patna and is awaiting a fresh posting.
His transfer comes amid the controversy surrounding the Siwan student protest on July 25, during which an AK-47 was allegedly used. A constable was subsequently suspended, while the Opposition had also been demanding action against senior police officials.
Jhas removal is likely to draw political attention, particularly with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) making the Siwan incident a key issue ahead of its August 19 Lok Bhawan March over student and youth-related concerns.
Major changes at DIG level
The reshuffle has also brought changes among several DIG-rank officers. Anil Kumar, a 2010-batch officer, has been appointed DIG, Prohibition and NNTF (Noose and Narcotics Task Force), Bihar. He was earlier serving as DIG, Finance and Technical Services.
Mrityunjay Kumar Chaudhary, also from the 2010 batch, has been transferred as DIG, Civil Defence. He was previously posted as DIG, Vigilance Investigation Bureau.
Rajiv Ranjan-2, a 2012-batch officer, has been appointed DIG, Special Vigilance Bureau after serving as DIG, Human Rights.
Ajay Kumar Pandey, another 2012-batch officer, has been appointed DIG, Finance and Technical Services. He previously served as DIG, Prohibition and NNTF.
Amir Javed, a 2012-batch IPS officer, has been appointed DIG, Vigilance Investigation Bureau. He was earlier posted as SP, Weaker Sections and Womens Cell, CID.
Mithilesh Kumar, also from the 2012 batch, has been appointed Commandant of Bihar Special Armed Police-9, Jamalpur. He previously served as an SP in the Economic Offences Unit (EOU).
Sushil Kumar has been given the additional charge of DIG, Human Rights while continuing as DIG, Legal Affairs and Rules.
New police chiefs in key districts
The government has also appointed new police chiefs in several important districts.
Hriday Kant, a 2015-batch IPS officer, has been appointed SP of Nalanda. He was previously serving as SP with the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS).
Bharat Soni, a 2019-batch officer, has been appointed the new SP of Siwan, replacing Puran Kumar Jha. Soni was earlier SP of Nalanda.
Roshan Kumar, also from the 2019 batch, has been appointed SSP of Saran after serving as SP of Rohtas.
Raj, a 2019-batch IPS officer, has been appointed SP of Rohtas. He was previously posted as SP of Bhojpur.
Awadhesh Dixit, another 2019-batch officer, has been appointed SP of Bhojpur after serving as SP (Personnel-1) at Bihar Police Headquarters.
Garima, a 2022-batch IPS officer, has been appointed SP, Weaker Sections and Womens Cell, CID. She was earlier Commandant of Bihar Special Armed Police-9, Jamalpur.
The reshuffle marks a broad reorganisation of Bihars police leadership, with changes across sensitive districts and specialised wings dealing with vigilance, prohibition, economic offences, terrorism, human rights and civil defence. The change in Siwan, in particular, is likely to remain under political scrutiny following the recent student protest controversy.