Johri, who is director general of the Border Security Force (BSF), was one of the three officers on the panel sent recently by the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) to the MP government for appointment as DGP.

Ending days of speculation over the fate of Madhya Pradesh DGP V K Singh, the state government on Thursday replaced him with another officer of the 1984 batch, V K Johri, who is deputation to the Centre.

Singh was made director of Sports and Youth Welfare, pending further orders.

Johri, who is director general of the Border Security Force (BSF), was one of the three officers on the panel sent recently by the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) to the MP government for appointment as DGP. The state government rejected the panel on the grounds that Johri had not given his willingness in writing.

Singh and Maithilisharan Gupta were the two other names. Senior IPS officer Rajendra Kumar, who is DG of Cyber Cell, will hold the post of acting DGP along with his current responsibility. The 1985 batch officer is currently heading the team set up to probe the honey trap case.