Mahesh Bhagwat replaces VC Sajjanar as Hyderabad Police Commissioner

Senior IPS officer Mahesh Muralidhar Bhagwat has been appointed Hyderabad Police Commissioner in a major reshuffle of Telangana police officials involving 21 officers. The changes, notified by the state government on Thursday, November 12, also include transfers of five officers holding Director General-rank posts.

Mahesh, a 1995-batch IPS officer who was serving as DGP (Law and Order), replaces VC Sajjanar, who has been transferred as Director General of Telangana Fire, Disaster Response, Emergency and Civil Defence. Sajjanar has also been given additional charge as Director General of the Special Protection Force. His transfer comes around 14 months after he took charge as Hyderabad Police Commissioner.

Akun Sabharwal, who was awaiting a posting after returning from central deputation, has been appointed Additional DGP (Law and Order). He will also hold additional charge as ADGP (Coordination) and ADGP (Technical Services), also known as T-Spark. Akun had joined the Research and Analysis Wing in 2019 and served in the United States before being recalled to India and posted with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police.

The reshuffle also moves Anil Kumar, who headed the Greyhounds and Octopus units, out of the police department. He has been appointed Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC), his first non-policing assignment. Anil, who was associated with anti-Naxal operations and the surrender of several senior Maoist leaders, has been replaced by Vikram Singh Mann as DGP (Operations), Greyhounds and Octopus. Vikram will additionally hold charge of the Police Housing Corporation and Special Protection Force.

Changes have also been made in the women and safety, prisons and anti-corruption wings. Soumya Mishra, who was Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services, has been appointed DGP (Women and Safety), SHE Teams and Bharosa. She will additionally hold charge of DGP (Organisation) and DGP (Legal).

Swati Lakra, previously DGP (Organisation) and Home Guards, will take over as Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services while retaining additional charge of Home Guards. Charu Sinha, who previously held additional responsibilities in the women and safety wing and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), has been appointed DGP of the ACB. She will continue to hold additional charge as DGP of the Crime Investigation Department (CID).

The changes extend to the civil supplies and transport safety departments. Y Nagi Reddy, who was heading TGSRTC, has been appointed Commissioner of Civil Supplies and Ex-officio Principal Secretary of the Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department. He will also hold additional charge as Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of the Civil Supplies Corporation and Controller of Legal Metrology. The appointment marks his third major posting under the Congress government since it came to power.

M Stephen Raveendra, who was serving as Commissioner of Civil Supplies, has been posted as the first Director of the newly created Telangana Traffic Management, Road and Rail Safety Bureau (TG-TMARS).

At the inspector general level, S Chandrasekhar Reddy has been transferred from Multi-Zone-I and appointed Director of the ACB, relieving Avinash Mohanty of the additional charge. Kartikeya, who was IG (Intelligence), will replace Chandrasekhar Reddy in Multi-Zone-I and additionally head the Integrated Command and Control Centre.

K Ramesh Naidu has been transferred as IG (Railways). D Joel Davis, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Hyderabad, has been given additional charge as Joint Director (Road Safety) and Joint Director (Traffic) at TG-TMARS. He will continue as Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Hyderabad City.

Among other changes, G Chandana Deepthi has been given additional charge as DIG, Zone-VII (Jogulamba), while R Bhaskaran will additionally serve as DIG (Intelligence). K Narayana Naik has been assigned additional charge as DIG, Zone-II (Basara).

L S Chowhan has been appointed DIG (Coordination) and will also hold additional charge as DIG, Zone-VI (Charminar). Sree Bala Devi, who was awaiting a posting, has been appointed Deputy Director (Administration) at TG-TMARS. V Aravinda Babu has been posted as DCP (Social Media and IT), Hyderabad City.

The transfers and postings were issued through a government order signed by Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju on November 12.