Chhattisgarh Reshuffles 31 IPS Officers: Pawan Deo Takes Charge of Home Guards, GP Singh Gets Police Academy
Raipur just witnessed one of the bigger police reshuffles the state has seen in a while. The Chhattisgarh government has moved a total of 31 IPS officers in one sweep, and this isn’t a reshuffle limited to junior ranks either. It stretches all the way from Director General level down to Assistant Inspector General, touching virtually every major wing of the state police machinery in the process.
Just look at the sheer spread of departments affected here. We’re talking about Home Guards, Civil Defence and Fire Services, the State Police Academy, Police Housing Corporation, Naxal Operations, Railways, Traffic, the Anti-Narcotics Task Force, CID, CCTNS, SCRB, Technical Services, Chhattisgarh Armed Forces, Telecom and even Dial-112. When a reshuffle covers this much ground in one order, it usually signals that the state wants a fairly comprehensive realignment rather than a few isolated fixes here and there.
Among the headline changes, Pawan Deo, a 1992 batch officer, has been handed charge as Director General of Home Guards, Civil Defence and Fire Services. Right alongside him, Gurjinder Pal Singh, from the 1994 batch, steps into the role of DG Training and Director of the State Police Academy. And rounding off the top tier changes, S R P Kalluri, also from the 1994 batch, takes over as Managing Director of the Chhattisgarh Police Housing Corporation.
Pawan Deo Moves Into Home Guards and Emergency Services
Pawan Deo was previously serving as CMD of the Chhattisgarh Police Housing Corporation, so this is a fairly significant shift in the kind of work he’ll now be overseeing. His new assignment puts him directly in charge of some of the state’s most critical emergency response and civil protection setups, the kind of departments that matter most whenever disasters, fires or civil emergencies strike. It’s a role that demands quick coordination and readiness, quite different from the housing and infrastructure focus of his previous posting.
GP Singh Steps Into Training and the State Police Academy
Meanwhile, Gurjinder Pal Singh moves into what’s arguably one of the more foundational roles in this entire reshuffle. He was earlier serving as DG at Police Headquarters, and now he’s taking on responsibility for how the state’s police force gets trained from the ground up, along with running the State Police Academy itself. Given how much training shapes the quality and discipline of an entire police force over the years, this is a posting with long term influence baked right into it.
SRP Kalluri Takes Over Police Housing Corporation
Filling the gap that Pawan Deo left behind, S R P Kalluri steps in as the new Managing Director of the Police Housing Corporation. He was previously ADGP at Police Headquarters, so this move essentially slots him directly into the seat Deo just vacated, keeping continuity in that particular department even as leadership changes hands.
A Wave of ADGP-Level Changes
The reshuffle doesn’t stop at the top three appointments either. Several Additional Director General level postings have also been reworked. Pradeep Gupta, from the 1995 batch, has been appointed ADGP for Administration and Selection at PHQ, and he’s also picking up additional charge as Director of Prosecution, which means he’ll be juggling two fairly demanding portfolios at once.
Vivekanand, a 1996 batch officer already associated with Naxal Operations, SIB, STF and CAF, has now been given the additional responsibility of ADGP for Finance, Planning and Management, layering yet another set of duties onto an already packed plate. Deepanshu Vijay Kabra, from 1997, similarly picks up additional charge as ADGP for both Railways and Traffic, on top of whatever he was already handling.
Amit Kumar, a 1998 batch officer, has been assigned additional charge as ADGP for the Anti-Narcotics Task Force, a role that’s likely to keep growing in importance given how narcotics enforcement has become a bigger priority across several states recently. And Dr Anand Chhabra, from the 2001 batch, has been appointed ADGP overseeing Technical Services, Dial-112 and Telecommunications, tying together some of the more tech driven arms of the police force under one leadership.
IG-Level Postings Get Reshuffled Too
Moving down a level, several Inspector General posts have changed hands as well. Om Prakash Paul, from 2003, has been posted as IG for Law and Order and Security. Ankit Kumar Garg, from 2004, now holds charge as IG for the Anti-Narcotics Task Force and Special Branch, alongside his existing duties. Dhruv Gupta, a 2005 batch officer, takes over as IG for CID, CCTNS and SCRB, three departments that increasingly work hand in hand given how much crime investigation now leans on digital records and data.
Balajirao Somavar, from 2007, has been assigned as IG for AJAK and Technical Services, while Prashant Kumar Agarwal, from 2008, steps into the role of IG for the Chhattisgarh Armed Forces. Milna Kurre, also from the 2008 batch, has been shifted as part of this broader exercise too.
DIG and AIG Postings Round Out the List
The reshuffle then works its way down through a whole set of Deputy Inspector General postings, followed by several Assistant Inspector General level changes, covering everything from CID and CCTNS to Traffic, Security, Telecom and Finance functions across the state police setup.
Given how extensive this list is, here’s the complete rundown of all 31 officers and their new postings under this reshuffle:
- Pawan Deo (1992 batch) – Director General, Home Guards, Civil Defence and Fire Services
- Gurjinder Pal Singh (1994 batch) – Director General, Training and Director, State Police Academy
- S R P Kalluri (1994 batch) – Managing Director, Chhattisgarh Police Housing Corporation
- Pradeep Gupta (1995 batch) – ADGP, Administration and Selection, PHQ; additional charge of Director, Prosecution
- Vivekanand (1996 batch) – ADGP, Finance, Planning and Management, in addition to current responsibilities
- Deepanshu Vijay Kabra (1997 batch) – ADGP, Railways and Traffic, in addition to current responsibilities
- Amit Kumar (1998 batch) – ADGP, Anti-Narcotics Task Force, in addition to current responsibilities
- Dr Anand Chhabra (2001 batch) – ADGP, Technical Services, Dial-112 and Telecommunications
- Om Prakash Paul (2003 batch) – IG, Law and Order and Security
- Ankit Kumar Garg (2004 batch) – IG, Anti-Narcotics Task Force and Special Branch, in addition to current responsibilities
- Dhruv Gupta (2005 batch) – IG, CID, CCTNS and SCRB
- Balajirao Somavar (2007 batch) – IG, AJAK and Technical Services
- Prashant Kumar Agarwal (2008 batch) – IG, Chhattisgarh Armed Forces
- Milna Kurre (2008 batch) – DIG, Anti-Narcotics Task Force
- Parul Mathur (2008 batch) – DIG, Anti-Narcotics Task Force, PHQ
- Manish Sharma (2009 batch) – DIG, Administration and Selection
- Abhishek Meena (2010 batch) – DIG, Chhattisgarh Armed Force, Bastar
- Sadanand Kumar (2010 batch) – DIG, Chhattisgarh Armed Force
- Girija Shankar Jaiswal (2010 batch) – DIG, CID and CCTNS/SCRB
- M L Kotwani (2010 batch) – DIG, Municipal Army, State Disaster Management Force and Fire Services
- Prashant Kumar Thakur (2011 batch) – DIG, Security
- Ajatshatru Bahadur Singh (2011 batch) – DIG, Finance, Planning and Management
- Vivek Shukla (2012 batch) – DIG, Telecom and Dial-112
- Rajesh Kukreja (2012 batch) – DIG, CCTNS and SCRB
- Shweta Rajamani (2012 batch) – DIG, Telecom and Dial-112
- Ramakrishna Sahu (2012 batch) – DIG, CID
- Mohit Garg (2013 batch) – AIG, Administration and Selection
- Ravi Kumar Kurre (2014 batch) – AIG, CID
- Yaduvali Akshay Kumar (2018 batch) – AIG, CCTNS; additional charge of Joint Transport Commissioner, Road Safety
- Chirag Jain (2020 batch) – Commandant, 18th Battalion, Manendragarh-Chirmiri
- Anjali Vishwakarma (2021 batch) – AIG, Traffic, PHQ
What This Reshuffle Really Means
Looking at the bigger picture, this order touches nearly every operational and administrative wing the Chhattisgarh Police has running right now. Police Headquarters, Training, the State Police Academy, Home Guards, Civil Defence, Fire Services, Housing, Prosecution, Finance and Planning, Railways, Traffic, Anti-Narcotics work, CID, Special Branch, CCTNS, SCRB, Technical Services, Telecom, Dial-112, Security and the Armed Forces wing have all been shuffled in some form.
With this many officers moving across so many departments at once, it’s fair to expect a fair bit of realignment in responsibilities across several levels of the state police hierarchy over the coming weeks, as new officers settle into their roles and start putting their own stamp on how things get run.
