A month after Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy made more than 20 changes in the state’s Indian Police Service (IPS) postings, he affected five more changes in the top brass of the state police. The CM also holds the portfolio of the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms. Sources close to the CM hinted that he had okayed the transfers but changes could also be proposed by the Deputy CM and Home Minister G Parameshwara.
Inspector General-ranked officer Harishekaran of 1996 batch of Karnataka cadre has been posted as the IGP and Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Bengaluru replacing R Hitendra, who has been transferred out. Harishekaran was earlier serving as the IGP of Bengaluru HeadQuaters-1. Hitendra is yet to get a posting.
Similarly, SD Sharanappa, who was the DCP (South Bengaluru), has been replaced by 2011 batch officer K Annamalai, the erstwhile Superintendent of Police in Chikkamagaluru. 2013 batch officer Harish Pandey, who was the SP of CID, will take the position of Chikkamagaluru SP. Incidentally, Annamalai was made the SP of Ramanagara by former CM Yeddyurappa during his two-day stint. However, he did not receive his movement certificate as Yeddyurappa failed to win the trust vote.
This is the third major rejig in the police department since CM HDK took oath in late May.
These rounds of transfers come after the CM made a thorough overhaul of the state’s police mid-September. Days before affecting more than 20 transfers, he had spoken about the operation of a “gambling mafia” enabled by some opposition leaders and top officers working to topple the government. In a circular issued on September 15, he had changed postings of 23 officers including those in the state’s Intelligence, Lokayukta and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
A week from then, 42 Deputy Superintendent of Police-ranked (Assistant Commissioner of Police) officers were also transferred across the state, including to branches like the ACB and CID.