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Friday, August 27, 2010

BB Vyas is Pr Secy to CM     Rajindra is almost DGP           Sahai back as IG Kashmir


Omar begins to act as CM

Khursheed, Basharat, Mehboob, Varghese, Lankar, Farooq removed from key positions; IG Security, SSP Security attached for I-Day security breach

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Aug 26: Raising stark indications of a Cabinet reshuffle and a massive overhaul in Police and civil administration in near future, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today took bold initiatives to refurbish the image of his non-performing coalition government. While dismissing Ghulam Mohammad Saroori as a Minister of his Cabinet, Chief Minister today directed the all-powerful Chairman of Jammu &n Kashmir Bank Ltd to submit his resignation “within 24 hours”. With the search already underway for new Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, Cabinet today ordered a top level reshuffle in both Police and bureaucracy. The most powerful bureaucrats and Police officials removed unceremoniously from key positions in the government included Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Khursheed Ahmed Ganai, Commissioner-Secretary General Administration Department Basharat Ahmed Dhar, Commissioner-Secretary PWD Mehboob Iqbal, Financial Commissioner Home Sameul Varghese, IGP Kashmir Farooq Ahmed and Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir, Naseema Lankar. IG and SSP of Security Wing have been attached over the infamous security breach of Independence Day at Bakhshi Memorial Sports Stadium.

Highly placed authoritative sources revealed to Early Times that a host of developments---Congress party’s Cabinet Minister Ghulam Mohammad Saroori’s refusal to resign and some bureaucrats’ alleged contribution to the PDP press conference on Wednesday included---led Omar Abdullah to take some of the boldest decisions of his 20-month-long coalition government. Acting over a verbal communication from the Congress High Command, sources said, Chief Minister wrote a letter to Governor N N Vohra, requesting him to dismiss Saroori as a Minister of his Cabinet. Late this evening, Governor dismissed Saroori as a Cabinet Minister on Chief Minister’s recommendation.

Following the involvement of Saroori’ daughter in the lately exposed impersonation scandal at ASCOMS, Jammu, Congress High Command had asked the Minister of R&B to submit his resignation. He, however, declined to having received any such direction from the party high command and left for Saudi Arabia, alongwith his wife and the Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s brother, Ghulam Mustafa Azad, on Wednesday. His recalcitrance finally led to his dismissal today. Chief Minister retained Saroori’s portfolio with himself. Sources said that in a possible Cabinet reshuffle “within 15 days”, Chief Minister would assign R&B portfolio to a new Minister from Congress party.

In another significant development, Chief Minister sent Commissioner-Secretary Finance, Sudhanshu Pandey, to Corporate Headquarters of Jammu & Kashmir Bank Ltd and asked him to immediately get Chairman Haseeb Drabu’s resignation. Pandey, sources said, drove all the way to his assigned destination and communicated the state government’s direction to Drabu. He made it clear to Drabu that in case he failed to submit his resignation within 24 hours, Government would be constrained to call an extraordinary meeting of the Board of Directors to seek his dismissal. Sources said that Chief Minister desired Drabu’s resignation after having received from Reserve Bank of India a dossier of gross irregularities committed in J&K Bank in the last five years. Sources said that acquisition of real estate without genuine need, against huge kickbacks in some metros recently, was also a major factor behind the government’s decision.

According to these sources, search was already underway to find suitable replacements for Chief Secretary S S Kapur and DGP, Kuldeep Khoda.

Meanwhile, a Cabinet meeting, presided over by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, ordered a massive reshuffle in top rungs of Police and bureaucracy. Powerful bureaucrats removed from key positions included Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Khursheed Ahmed Ganai, Commissioner-Secretary General Administration Department, Basharat Ahmed Dhar, Commissioner-Secretary PWD, Mehboob Iqbal, Financial Commissioner Home, Sameul Varghese, IGP Kashmir, Farooq Ahmed, and Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir, Naseema Lankar.

Ganai and Dhar were mercifully adjusted as Commissioner-Secretary Planning & Development and Power Development Department, respectively. That is exactly how Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had dealt with Iqbal Khanday, then Principal Secretary to Chief Minister. Bharat Bhushan Vyas, who has held important positions in his 20-year-long career, including Principal Secretary to Governor, Secretary Finance and Commissioner-Secretary P&D, has been appointed as the new Principal Secretary to Chief Minister. He is known for his hardwork and public relations. Vyas would be retaining the charge of Chief Executive of Economic Reconstruction Agency.

While abolishing lately created posts of Special Commissioner North Kashmir and Special IG North Kashmir, Cabinet appointed Mohammad Sayeed Khan as the new Secretary GAD while as Pankaj Saxena was sent on a Central deputation. Cabinet removed senior IAS officer, Sameul Varghese, as Financial Commissioner Home and appointed him as Chairman of Special Tribunal. Key accused in Gulmarg Land Scandal, Mehboob Iqbal has been removed as Commissioner-Secretary R&B and attached to GAD. Cabinet also removed Mrs Naseema Lankar as Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir and appointed her as Commissioner-Secretary School Education in place of G A Pir who has been appointed as the new Excise Commissioner.

Commissioner-Secretary PDD, B R Sharma, has been transferred and appointed as Commissioner-Secretary Home.

Asgar Hassan Samoon has been appointed as the new Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir.

Chairman Special Tribunal, K B Agarwal, has been transferred and appointed as the new Commissioner-Secretary R&B in place of Mehboob Iqbal.

Pardeep Gupta, Excise Commissioner, J&K has been transferred and posted as Secretary, CAPD/ Transport.

G. A. Qureshi, Vice Chairman, Jammu Development Authority has been transferred and posted as Joint Financial Commissioner (AR).

Vinod Shamra, Director ERA has been transferred and posted as Vice Chairman, Jammu Development Authority.

Cabinet also ordered a major reshuffle in top rungs of J&K Police. ADG CIG, K Rajendra Kumar, has been transferred and appointed as ADG Armed and Law & Order. He has become the most important Police official, after DGP Khoda, by his appointment as ADG Law & Order as both, IGP Kashmir and IGP Jammu, would be directly reporting to him. Rajendra has held a very successful stint as IGP Kashmir. A known counter-insurgent, Rajindra has a high profile in anti-militancy operations. He had got critically injured in a militant attack on then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s rally at Sher-e-Kashmir Park in 2007.

Terminating his year-long punishment as “OSD” at J&K House New Delhi, Government has recalled another high profile operational officer, Shiv Murari Sahai, and yet again appointed him as IGP Kashmir in place of Farooq Ahmed, who has been appointed as IG Security. IG Headquarters, Dr B Srinivas, has been transferred and appointed as IG CID. He has been replaced by Mrs D R Doley. IGP Armed, Dilbagh Singh, has been transferred and posted as Director SKPTA, Udhampur in place of Naveen Agarwal, who has been appointed as IG Railway. Arun Chowdhary has been posted as IG Technical Service, PHQ in place of Zahoor Chisti, who has been appointed as IGP Armed/ IRP Kashmir.

IG Railways, Ravinder Kotwal, has been transferred and posted as IG Armed/ IRP Jammu.SSP Pulwama, Syed Kifayat Haider, has been transferred and posted as SSP Security, Kashmir. Abdul Razak Khan, presently looking after the charge of SP Pulwama has been transferred and posted as SP Pulwama.

Sources said that Government has attached IGP Security, Ram Lubhaya, as well as SSP Security Rafeequl Hassan, over the recent security breach on I-Day at bakshi Stadium when a suspended head constable, Abdul Ahad Jan, had occupied then Home Secretary Tashi Dorjay’s chair and hurled a shoe on Chief Minister. Sources said that further investigation into the matter was still underway.

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