Have Police Officers in MP Been Transferred for Misconduct?

Bhopal, June 2 (NationPress) Following recent incidents within the police department, substantial administrative changes have been initiated among senior police officials, including Pramod Verma, Chief of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that is probing the case involving Minister Vijay Shah. Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav has deemed their “public conduct inappropriate,” leading to the transfer of several high-ranking officers.

The Home Department has formally issued orders transferring Pramod Verma, who was at the helm of the investigation into Vijay Shah’s case. These orders were released late on a Sunday night. Verma, previously the Inspector General (IG) for the Sagar Range, will now take up the position of IG for the Jabalpur Range. Taking his place is Chandrashekhar Solanki, who has been moved from his role as IG of the Special Armed Forces (SAF) in Indore to serve as the IG for Sagar.

In a statement on his X handle, CM Dr Mohan Yadav indicated that the conduct of the Superintendent of Police of Katni, the Superintendent of Police of Datia, as well as the IG and Deputy IG of the Chambal Range, had been “found inconsistent with the principles of public service.”

Consequently, swift adjustments have been ordered for these officers, including Katni SP Abhijeet Ranjan, Datia SP Virendra Kumar, Chambal Range IG Sushant Kumar Saxena, and DIG Kumar Saurabh.

This broader administrative reshuffle has involved the transfer of ten IPS officers, with new appointments made to fill the vacancies. Abhinav Vishwakarma has been appointed as the new Superintendent of Police for Katni, while Suraj Verma takes over as the Superintendent of Police for Datia. Their predecessors, Abhijeet Ranjan and Virendra Kumar Mishra, have been reassigned to the Police Headquarters in Bhopal as Assistant Inspector Generals. Additionally, DCP Indore Abhinav Vishwakarma will now serve as Katni’s SP, while Suraj Verma assumes the role of SP in Datia.

Further restructuring in the police hierarchy has led to the appointments of Sachin Atulkar as the new IG of Chambal and Sunil Kumar Jain as the new DIG of Chambal, with their predecessors being reassigned to Police Headquarters.

The transfers of the SPs from Katni and Datia follow a publicized altercation involving Katni SP Abhijeet Ranjan and the husband of a Tehsildar, alongside a dispute among senior police officials during the preparations for the inauguration of Datia airport. Tensions escalated between the SP, IG, and DIG over crowd control measures, particularly concerning the presence of BJP workers, leading to a confrontation that required the intervention of the Chief Minister and the subsequent transfers of the involved officers.