- Kerala police reshuffle: 30 senior IPS officers transfered to new key positions
- P Vijayan appointed Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order)
- Dinesh Kashyap named Intelligence Chief and S Sreejith as Prisons Chief
Days after one of the biggest IAS reshuffles in recent years, the Kerala government has carried out a major overhaul at the top levels of the police force, transferring 30 senior IPS officers from the rank of ADGP to district police chiefs. The move comes ahead of a massive police force transformation envisioned by Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala.
The most significant appointment is that of P Vijayan as the new Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order), one of the most influential positions in the state police hierarchy.
A 1999-batch IPS officer, Vijayan had earlier faced suspension during the previous LDF government's tenure. The suspension was later revoked, and he subsequently earned promotions within the force.
Vijayan had also received national attention after Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised during his 'Mann Ki Baat' programme for promoting a responsible pilgrimage campaign at Sabarimala.
In another key change, S Sreejith has been appointed as the state Prisons Chief.
Senior officer H Venkatesh will continue as Crime Branch Chief but has been relieved of his additional charge as ADGP Law and Order. Venkatesh had been heading the Special Investigation Team probing the high-profile Sabarimala gold theft case.
The government has appointed Dinesh Kashyap as Intelligence Chief. Former TP Chandrasekharan murder case investigator Shoukath Ali has been posted as Kozhikode City Police Commissioner.
A notable feature of the reshuffle is the appointment of a woman officer to oversee Police Headquarters. Harshita Attaluri has been named IG, Police Headquarters. She was previously handling traffic management. Another woman officer, Nishanthini, has been posted to a key role in the Intelligence wing.
Among other appointments, Shyam Sundar has been made IG, Crime Branch, while Balram Kumar Upadhyay takes charge as ADGP, Armed Battalions.
The reshuffle also brings changes at the district and range levels. Arul B Krishna has been appointed Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner, while Merin Joseph takes over as Kozhikode Rural Police Chief. K Karthik becomes Thrissur Range DIG, T Narayanan takes charge as Kannur Range DIG, and Yathish Chandra has been posted as Ernakulam Range DIG.
The sweeping changes come just days after the state government transferred and reassigned 47 IAS officers, signalling a broader administrative reset across Kerala's bureaucracy.
