Three Punjab cities get police chiefs

CHANDIGARH - Three main cities of Punjab - Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Amritsar - Friday got police commissioners for the first time under a recently-introduced system.

IPS officer Gaurav Yadav has been appointed police commissioner of Jalandhar city while Ishwar Singh and Virender Kumar have been appointed for Ludhiana and Amritsar cities, respectively.

All the three were deputy inspectors general in different departments of Punjab police.

The Punjab government had last month announced the introduction of police commissioner system in the three cities.

Earlier, each of the cities had a Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) to head the district’s police force.

While Amritsar is home to the holiest of Sikh shrines ‘Harmandar Sahib’ (popularly known as Golden Temple), Ludhiana - Punjab’s biggest and most populated city (35 lakh population) - is one of the biggest industrial hubs in Asia, and Jalandhar is a major centre for industry, business, sports and culture.

Punjab’s department of home affairs Friday had made a major reshuffle in the state’s police.

Pawan Kumar Rai, SSP of Amritsar, has been appointed deputy police commissioner in Jalandhar while SSP Fatehgarh Sahib Kaustabh Sharma will join as deputy commissioner of police in Amritsar.