Srinagar, Sept 7: In a late night order issued by the State Administrative Council (SAC) on Thursday, Jammu & Kashmir's incumbent Director General of Police Shesh Paul Vaid was removed from his post and appointed as the Transport Commissioner.

SP Vaid, the 1987-batch IPS officer at helm of J&K police since December 2016, has been replaced by Dilbagh Singh. The latter, a 1986-batch IPS officer, is currently the Director General, Prisons.

The transfer of Vaid comes in the backdrop of alleged differences between him and the newly appointed Governor, Satya Pal Malik. Reports claimed that the SAC headed by Malik was disappointed by Vaid's handling of the recent cases involving the abduction of J&K police personnel's kin by the Hizbul Mujahideen militants.

Nearly a dozen relatives of the policemen were kidnapped by the militants, who in-turn demanded the release of their kin held by the forces. Accepting their demand, Vaid approved the release of the insurgents' family members, including the father of top Hizbul commander Riyaz Naikoo.

Two days before Vaid's transfer, on Tuesday, the SAC had replaced Additional Director General, CID, Abdul Gani Mir with B Srinivas, who has returned from central deputation.

The reshuffle came days after local media claimed that the Governor was mulling over major changes ahead of the upcoming panchayat and local bodies elections.

Even before Vaid's removal, Governor Malik had divested certain administrative powers from him and accorded it to ADG Law and Order Munir Khan. The DGP had registered his dissent over the same with the Union Home Secretary.

Despite reports highlighting the alleged differences between the new dispensation in the state and the outgoing police chief, Vaid has appealed the media to exercise restraint. "J&K police has been fighting a proxy war for decades which requires a lot of courage and determination of the men and officers of JKP. Speculative articles which undermine their morale should be avoided," he said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 07, 2018 08:38 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).