Bengaluru IPS shake-up: Who is M Abdulla Saleem, senior IPS officer returning as Traffic Police Chief

Bengaluru is a city with an ongoing traffic problem. Keeping this in mind, the Karnataka state government, on Monday, upgraded senior IPS officer M Abdulla Saleem's post and made him the new chief of the traffic police. 

M Abdulla Saleem, before this, was the additional director-general of police (administration) and will now be the head of the Bengaluru traffic police as special commissioner (traffic). According to the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, the post of ADGP and special commissioner (traffic) will be equal in status and commitments to the cadre post of ADGP (administration). 

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56-year-old M Abdulla Saleem was born in Soladevanahalli on Bengaluru's northern outskirts and so is aware of the city's traffic patterns. M Abdulla Saleem is a postgraduate in commerce and holds a doctorate in traffic management. He is an IPS officer of the 1993 batch and has held several positions in the city traffic police. 

Before this, M Abdulla Saleem was the deputy commissioner of police (traffic, East) as well as the additional commissioner of police (traffic). M Abdulla Saleem has now replaced Dr BR Ravikanthe Gowda, who helmed the city traffic police for more than three years.

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Dr BR Ravikanthe Gowda, deputy inspector-general of police, was appointed the joint commissioner of police (traffic) on August 5, 2019, after the BJP came to power. He is now the DIG of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).