Nagpur Senior IPS officer Vivekananda Sinha was appointed as the Inspector General of Police of the Maoist insurgency-hit Bastar range of Chhattisgarh on Saturday.
The post was vacant after former Bastar IG and controversial police officer Shiv Ram Prasad Kalluri was shifted out of the region in February.
The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Dantewada range P.Sundar Raj was given an additional charge of Bastar range, however, the killing of 12 CRPF men in the region’s Sukma district last month, fuelled the demand of a full-time IG in the region.
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An IPS officer of 1996 batch, Mr.Sinha is currently posted as IG Bilaspur range. With his transfer to Bastar, the conflict-hit region will have a new team of IPS officers.
Mr. Kalluri’s subordinate officers, including Bastar Superintendent of Police R.N. Dash and Sukma SP Kalyaan Elesela were also removed from Bastar after his transfer.
Mr. Sinha already has experience on the Maoist front as he was in-charge of Bastar range for a few months last year, when Mr. Kalluri had proceeded on medical leave.
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Mr. Sinha’s transfer to Bastar also quelled speculations about Mr. Kalluri’s return to the region.