The Jammu and Kashmir administration has ordered a major reshuffle within the Union Territory’s police force, transferring 100 senior officers and assigning new responsibilities across district police units, specialised departments and senior administrative positions. The changes, ordered by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on October 9, cover officers from both the Indian Police Service (IPS) and the Jammu and Kashmir Police Service (JKPS).
The large-scale exercise includes 28 IPS officers, while the remaining personnel belong to the JKPS cadre. Several districts and police districts across Jammu and Kashmir will have new leadership, alongside changes in traffic policing, armed police formations, training institutions and other specialised wings.
The transfers have been ordered as part of an administrative reorganisation of the police establishment, with the new postings taking effect immediately.
Eight District Police Units Get New Leadership
One of the most significant aspects of the Jammu and Kashmir police reshuffle is the appointment of new senior superintendents of police (SSPs) in five districts and three police districts.
Harshal Rajesh Mahajan has been appointed SSP Ganderbal, while Sudhanshu Dhama will take charge as SSP Kupwara. Anna Sinha has been posted as SSP Ramban, Vaibhav Meena as SSP Poonch and Tahir Saleem Khan as SSP Bandipora.
At the police district level, Neha Jain has been assigned responsibility for Sopore, Sajad Khaliq Bhat for Handwara and Irshad Hussain Rather for Awantipora.
These appointments represent a substantial change in district-level police leadership across the Union Territory, with new officers taking charge of important administrative and operational responsibilities.
Senior IPS Officers Receive New Assignments
Several prominent IPS officers have also been reassigned to key positions within the police administration.
Danesh Rana, a 1996-batch IPS officer who had been awaiting a new posting, has been appointed Managing Director of the Jammu and Kashmir Police Housing Corporation. The appointment also relieves S.J.M. Gillani of the additional charge of the position.
Garib Dass, who was serving as director of the Sher-e-Kashmir Police Academy in Udhampur, has been transferred to the post of Additional Director General of Police for Homeguards, Civil Defence and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).
Dr Mohd Haseeb Mughal will take over as director of the police academy, succeeding Garib Dass.
Abdul Jabbar has been appointed Inspector General of Police, Armed Police, Jammu. Meanwhile, Shahid Mehraj Rather has been assigned the role of Inspector General of Police, Technical Services, Jammu and Kashmir.
Swarn Singh Kotwal has been posted as Deputy Inspector General of Police for the Udhampur-Reasi Range. Aijaz Ahmad Bhat, previously serving as SSP Traffic Srinagar City, has been appointed commandant of the 23rd Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police unit.
Changes in Traffic Police and Specialised Wings
The reshuffle also covers traffic management and other specialised police formations.
Bisma Qazi has been appointed the new head of Traffic Police Srinagar City, taking over the responsibility previously held by Aijaz Ahmad Bhat. The changes also extend to the Railway Police and Security Wing, reflecting the broad scope of the administrative exercise.
Beyond these appointments, the transfer order includes changes involving armed police battalions, intelligence-related units, police training establishments and other departmental formations.
The reassignment of officers across these units forms a substantial part of the wider reorganisation, extending beyond district policing to the administration of specialised services.
Administrative Reorganisation Across Jammu and Kashmir
The latest Jammu and Kashmir Police transfers affect leadership positions across both the Jammu and Kashmir divisions. The combination of district-level appointments and senior departmental changes makes this one of the major personnel reshuffles within the Union Territory’s police administration.
The changes redistribute responsibilities across several layers of the force, from district command structures to senior leadership positions and specialised units.
With the new postings taking effect immediately, the officers concerned are expected to assume their assigned responsibilities under the revised administrative arrangement. The reshuffle brings a broad range of police establishments under new leadership while maintaining the existing organisational framework of the Jammu and Kashmir Police.
