SP Vaid removed as Jammu & Kashmir police chief

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir police chief SP Vaid was unceremoniously removed late Thursday and shunted as the transport commissioner and Director General of Prison Dilbagh Singh was directed to look after the force until a regular appointment was made.

The official order to this effect was issued late Thursday by principal secretary, Home, RK Goyal.

Vaid, a 1986-batch IPS officer, was appointed as the Director General of Police in December, 2016. He is due to retire in October next year.

Singh, who has been made the in-charge Director General of Police, is a 1987-batch officer. He was made the head of the prison department in March after the infamous escape of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Naved Jhatt while the latter was on a routine health check-up at a city hospital in February.

Singh, during his tenure as Director General of Prisons, streamlined many things, including the removal of hardened terrorists from Kashmir jails.

He will have a regular appointment only after his name is cleared by the UPSC.

Some more orders are likely to come, in which Arun Chaudhury is likely to be appointed as the Director General of Prisons and SJM Gilani as the Additional Director General of the Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police.