Jammu and Kashmir: SP Vaid removed as police chief

NEW DELHI: The unceremonious removal of senior police officer SP Vaid as director general of police (DGP) of Jammu and Kashmir seems to be linked with the Centre's displeasure building since his "mishandling" of the Kathua rape and murder case as also his response during the recent "swap" of relatives of police personnel and terrorists.On Thursday night, the state administration, under newly appointed governor Satya Pal Malik , transferred Vaid to the transport department as its commissioner and replaced him temporarily with the Director General of Prisons, Dilbagh Singh, a 1987-batch IPS officer. The decision to appoint an acting DGP came even as the Supreme Court recently prohibited it countrywide and made it mandatory to get clearance of names from the UPSC.Top sources in Srinagar and New Delhi told the TOI that though Vaid initially shared an excellent rapport with the central government, the ties soured after the Kathua rape and murder and chargesheet took a communal turn, triggering massive protests against police in Jammu region. Incidentally, Vaid is a native of Kathua in Jammu region.Sources in Srinagar claimed that he acted as a professional but fell short of BJP's expectations in a case which had acquired a communal dimension. However, sources in New Delhi disputed it, asserting that Vaid "went by the then chief minister Mehbooba Mufti 's politically motivated orders instead of professionalism".Ties were already strained when K Vijay Kumar, a retired IPS officer, arrived as the adviser to J&K governor and the differences between the two escalated tensions further, resulting in the DGP being divested of the power to transfer, a responsibility which was assigned to his junior, ADG (law and order) Munir Khan.The tipping point came soon, with last week's abduction of 12 relatives of policemen by terrorists in south Kashmir. They were all released unharmed with some seeing police's high-handedness in picking up the father of top Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Riyaz Naikoo. But the central security establishment is of the view that if Asadullah Naikoo, known to agencies for his secessionist views, was picked up by the concerned SSP, he should not have been released and, in fact, charged.Former CM Omar Abdullah criticised Vaid's removal. In a couple of tweets, Abdullah said there was no hurry to replace Vaid if there was no clarity on the permanent replacement. J&K police "has enough problems without having to deal with confusion of leadership," he wrote.However, sources in New Delhi said his removal was part of the broader reshuffle of the police administration. Vaid's deputy Abdul Gani Mir was replaced by Dr B Srinivas as the new additional director general of CID just a few days ago."It is a pity that the man who, with his sincere efforts was able to put the whole nation behind the J&K police in the last two years, has been removed unceremoniously. This has demoralised the J&K police hugely," an inspector in Kashmir said.However, Vaid in a tweet expressed humility and gratefulness for the opportunity he had been given "to serve my people and my country".