Patna, June 14 (IANS) In a major administrative reshuffle triggered by rising crime across Bihar, including the state capital, the Nitish Kumar-led double-engine government on Saturday transferred 19 top police officers, including the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Patna.

Kartikeya K. Sharma, a 2014-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and current SP of Purnea, has been appointed the new SSP of Patna, replacing Avkash Kumar, who has now been posted as the Commandant of Bihar Special Armed Police-1, Patna.

The reshuffle was officially notified by the Home Department and comes amid increasing public criticism over deteriorating law and order in the state.

Apart from Patna SSP, Chandrashekhar Prasad, SP, Crime Investigation Department (CID), has been appointed as SP, Law and Order, Patna, Sweety Sahrawat, SP, Patna Central City, will now serve as the SP of Purnea, Ashok Kumar Mishra, SP of Samastipur, has been made SP, Special Branch, Shaishav Yadav, SP of Supaul, will now serve as Deputy Inspector General of Police (Modernization), Patna, Vidya Sagar, SP, Muzaffarpur Rural, has been posted as SP, ERSS (Emergency Response Support System), Patna, Vineet Kumar, SP, Special Branch, has been appointed as SP of Jehanabad, Pramod Kumar Yadav, the commandant of Bihar Special Armed Police-1, Patna is now appointed as SP of Crime Investigation Department (CID), Vishwajeet Dayal, the City SP of Muzaffarpur is now appointed as SP of Jamui, Arvind Pratap Singh, the SP of Jehanabad is appointed as SP of Samastipur.

This major reshuffle follows an earlier bureaucratic shake-up in the IAS cadre, including the transfer of Patna District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh, who was promoted to Divisional Commissioner of Patna Range. The then DM of Gaya, Thiyagarajan S.M., was appointed as Patna DM.

With the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections approaching, such changes are being seen as an attempt by the state government to tighten administrative control and improve public confidence in governance, especially concerning law and order.

–IANS

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