Bengaluru: In a significant administrative overhaul, the Karnataka government on Wednesday issued orders transferring and promoting several senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officers across the state. The reshuffle, approved by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, has resulted in major changes in Bengaluru City’s divisional leadership as well as key postings in district and specialised wings of the police department.
Two officers promoted as IGPs
As part of the reshuffle, two senior IPS officers were promoted to the rank of Inspector General of Police (IGP) while being retained in their existing roles. M B Boralingaiah will continue as IGP, Southern Range, Mysuru, while Ajai Hilori has been promoted as IGP and will continue as Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), Bengaluru City. Officials said retaining them in their current positions would ensure continuity in administration and ongoing operations.
Twenty-three officers elevated as DIGPs
The government has promoted as many as 23 IPS officers to the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP), marking one of the largest single-round promotions in recent years. Several of these officers were earlier serving as Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) in Bengaluru City and heads of specialised units.
Among the key postings, Bhimashankar Guled has been transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Economic Offences wing, while C K Baba has been posted to the Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP). S Girish, who earlier served in Bengaluru City, has been posted to head the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF).
Other officers elevated to DIGP rank include D Devaraju, who was serving in the Training wing, K Parashurama from the City Traffic and Road Safety (CTRS) unit, and several others who were handling crucial operational responsibilities.
Senior officers retained in upgraded roles
In addition to fresh postings, a few officers have been promoted while continuing in their present assignments. Abdul Ahad will continue as Director of the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), Sanjeev M Patil remains DIGP (General), and Kala Krishnaswamy continues as DIGP (Crime).
The reshuffle also strengthened specialised wings of the police department. Ilakkiya Karunagaran has been posted as DIGP (Wireless), while Vedamurthy and K Dharani Devi have been moved to the Intelligence wing. Siri Gowri has been posted to the Karnataka Lokayukta.
Other notable DIGP appointments include K M Shantharaju (Internal Security Division), Hanumantharaya (State Human Rights Commission), S Savitha (Home Guards), M Puttamadaiah (Principal, Police Training College, Kalaburagi), T Sreedhara (Headquarters), A N Prakash Gowda (Special Action Force), Jinendra Khanagavi (Prisons), J K Rashmi (Railways), T P Shivakumar (State Crime Records Bureau), Vishnuvardhana (Director, Karnataka Police Academy), and H D Anand Kumar (Cyber Command).
New leadership in Bengaluru City divisions
The reshuffle has brought in new faces to several key jurisdictional roles in Bengaluru City. Saidulu Adavath, who was earlier serving in the CID, has been posted as Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Whitefield Division. He replaces K Parashurama, who has been elevated to the rank of DIGP.
Yatish N, previously serving as Superintendent of Police (SP), Railways, has been posted as DCP, West Division. Mithun Kumar will take charge as DCP, North-East Division, while Vikram Amte has been posted as DCP, East Division. Mohammed Sujitha MS has been appointed as DCP, South-East Division.
Officials said the changes are aimed at strengthening law enforcement and improving response mechanisms in fast-growing and sensitive zones of the city.
Several districts get new SPs
The administrative exercise also included transfers of Superintendents of Police across several districts. Chandrakant M V has been posted as SP, Bengaluru Rural, while K Ramarajan takes charge of Belagavi district. B Nikhil has been posted to Shivamogga, Arunangshu Giri to Raichur, and Jitendra Kumar to Chikkamagaluru.
Kannika Sukhriwal has been posted as SP, Kolar, while Bindu Mani will take charge of Kodagu. Shobharani has been transferred to Mandya, Sara Fathima to Railways, and Muthuraju to Chamarajanagar. Sajeeth has been posted to the Internal Security Division, Pavan Nejjur to Ballari, Shubhanwitha to Hassan, and Mallikarjuna Baladandi to Mysuru district.
CID strengthened with new SPs
The Criminal Investigation Department has also been reinforced with new leadership. Three junior officers — Harsha Priyamvada, Shaloo and Sam Varghese — have been promoted from the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) to Superintendent of Police (SP) and posted to the CID. In addition, Kavitha B T has been transferred from Chamarajanagar to take charge as SP, CID.
Officials said strengthening the CID was necessary in view of the increasing complexity of economic offences, cybercrime and organised crime cases.
Conclusion
The large-scale IPS reshuffle reflects the state government’s attempt to realign leadership across urban, district and specialised policing units. With Bengaluru City seeing a major change of guard and districts receiving new SPs, the government expects improved coordination, efficiency and responsiveness in policing. The coming months will indicate how effectively the new team translates administrative changes into better law and order outcomes across Karnataka.