Srinagar, October 25:  Former IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer Girish Chandra Murmu as known as GC Murmu will take over as the first Lieutenant-Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. Former Governor Satya Pal Malik has been transferred and appointed as Governor of Goa. The government has also appointed Radha Krishna Mathur, former Defence Secretary, as the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh. Girish Chandra Murmu Appointed as First Lieutenant Governor of Jammu And Kashmir, Satya Pal Malik Transferred to Goa.

This development comes more than two months after Narendra Modi-led government axed the Jammu and Kashmir's special status under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and split the state into two union territories- Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

Who is Girish Chandra Murmu?

Girish Chandra Murmu is a 1985 batch IAS Officer of Gujarat cadre. He was the principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister. At present, he is the Secretary of the Department of Expenditure in the Finance ministry.

Hailing from Odisha's Sundargarh district, Murmu completed his Masters from Utkal University in Bhubaneshwar and MBA (Master of Business Administration) from United Kingdom's University of Birmingham.

GC Murmu is considered a close confidant of Narendra Modi. The 59-year-old IAS officer has a controversial record, reported The Quint. . In September 2013, Murmu was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case.

In June of the same year, news magazine Tehelka published an expose, that specified on a recording in the hands of the CBI between Praful Patel, then Additional Principal Secretary GC Murmu, and three others. The participants, according to the audio, had allegedly spoken about covering the crime.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 25, 2019 09:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).