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Ex-Bengal DGP Rajiv Kumar slated to represent state in Rajya Sabha

By
LO Bureau
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Ex-Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar
Former Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar

Out of the four candidates the Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has announced for the Rajya Sabha elections, the most surprising is the name of former IPS officer Rajiv Kumar (IPS:1989:WB). A known Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee loyalist, Kumar retired from the post of DGP on January 31 this year.

Five seats from West Bengal are falling vacant in the Rajya Sabha, elections for which are to be held on March 16.

Besides Rajiv Kumar, Minister of State Babul Supriyo, senior Supreme Court advocate Menaka Guruswamy, and actress Koel Mallick have been given tickets.

An IIT Roorkee alumnus, Kumar has been an upright police officer who did not defy his master’s orders, for which he is often criticized. He played a crucial role in major controversies that dogged Bengal’s politics and administration. He headed the investigation as the Special Task Force (STF) chief in the Saradha chit fund scam that surfaced in 2013 and played a key role in the arrest of the main accused, Sudipta Sen. The case was later transferred to the CBI.

Kumar’s proximity to CM Banerjee came to the public domain when, in 2019, just before the Lok Sabha elections, the CBI raided his home in connection with the Saradha scam. CM Mamata Banerjee staged a sit-in protest at Kolkata’s Esplanade, which made national headlines. This unprecedented 70-hour sit-in was ended only after the Supreme Court stayed Kumar’s arrest and directed him to cooperate with the investigation. During that period, it was believed within the TMC that Rajeev Kumar served as an “institutional shield” for the government and the Chief Minister.

But the loyalty part is overemphasized if a retired police officer is to be believed. According to him, Rajiv Kumar played a key role in the anti-terrorism cell, and his expertise in electronic surveillance was renowned throughout the country.

While in the Kolkata Police Special Task Force, he helped apprehend terrorists, bust counterfeit currency rackets, and played a key role in the arrest of major criminals like Aftab Ansari.

Kumar is also known for playing a key role in anti-Maoist operations in the state.

It is widely believed that the Bengal CM has chosen Kumar to put across a political message that the TMC does not forget officers who stand by CM Mamata Banerjee during times of crisis. The timing of this messaging is crucial, as Bengal is going to assembly polls within months.

IRS Sameer Wankhede might face disciplinary proceeding as Delhi HC sets aside CAT order

By
LO Bureau
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Sameer Wankhede IRS

A new twist has surfaced in the case of Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Sameer Wankhede, with the Delhi High Court admitting the Central government’s petition challenging the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order giving relief to the officer by quashing disciplinary action against him.

A Division Bench comprising justices Anil Kshetarpal and Amit Mahajan set aside the CAT order on Friday and cleared the way for disciplinary action against Wankhede.

The CAT, in its order issued on January 19, 2026, had slammed the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) for acting with malice and vendetta against Wankhede and restrained it from proceeding further on the basis of the charge memorandum.

Wankhede had approached the tribunal after disciplinary proceedings were initiated against him following his exit from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Mumbai amid controversy over the investigation of the Cordelia cruise drug case.

The disciplinary action against Wankhede stemmed from allegations linked to the Cordelia cruise drug bust, which had led to actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan’s arrest in 2021.

The CBIC had initiated the disciplinary proceedings against Wankhede following allegations linked to a preliminary inquiry conducted by a Special Enquiry Team (SET). The SET had examined complaints against him following his role in the high-profile 2021 Cordelia cruise drug seizure case while serving with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

It needs to be recalled that noted actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son, Aryan Khan, had been arrested by the NCB in that case.

Wankhede’s contention was that the findings of the preliminary inquiry could not be used as the basis for formal disciplinary action because the CBIC had not followed due process. He added that the charge memorandum issued to him was arbitrary, legally unsustainable and motivated by malice.

In their plea before the High Court, the Union government and CBIC argued that the Tribunal exceeded its jurisdiction by interfering at the stage of issuance of charges.

They also objected to the CAT attributing malice and motive to the government’s actions.

 IAS G Sai Prasad takes over as new Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh   

By
LO Bureau
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G Sai Prasad, IAS

Senior Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS officer G. Sai Prasad (IAS:1991:AP) is assuming charge as the new boss of the state administration. According to official orders, he is supposed to take over the reins of the new Chief Secretary at 11.33 am on February 28 at the state secretariat in Amaravati.

Prasad is taking over the charge from incumbent Chief Secretary K. Vijayanand (IAS:1992:AP), whose tenure had been extended for three months in Nov 2025 and is expiring on February 28. The state government had notified the appointment of Sai Prasad as the new CS in the same order, which contained incumbent Vijayanand’s extension.

Sai Prasad was serving as Special Chief Secretary of the Water Resources Department and Ex-Officio Special Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister before taking over as the Chief Secretary.

Sai Prasad has been known for his pro-poor leanings during his bureaucratic career and has headed major power utilities, including AP Transco and AP CPDCL, and served as vice-chairman of the AP Housing Board.

During his deputation to the Centre, Sai Prasad worked as Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Power and later served as Secretary and Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister, CMD of AP Solar Power Corporation, CCLA, and Special Chief Secretary of the Water Resources Department.

RECPDCL hands over Umred Power Transmission SPV to MSETCL

By
LO Bureau
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REC Power Development and Consultancy Limited (RECPDCL), a wholly owned subsidiary of REC Limited under the Ministry of Power, has handed over the project-specific Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of the InSTS Transmission Project of Maharashtra—Umred Power Transmission Limited—to Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Limited (MSETCL). The handover took place on February 26, 2026.

MSETCL emerged as the successful bidder through the Tariff-Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) process conducted by RECPDCL, which acted as the Bid Process Coordinator, for development of the transmission project on a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis.

The SPV was formally handed over by Vijay Kulkarni, Senior General Manager and Head of Department (T&D), RECPDCL, to Vineeta Shriwani, Company Secretary, and Amit Naik, Chief Engineer (TBCB), MSETCL, in the presence of senior officials of RECPDCL, MSETCL and Maharashtra STU. The implementation period of the project is 24 months.

The scheme broadly includes the establishment of a 400/220/132 kV substation at Umred; a 220 kV double circuit transmission line of around 51 km from Umred (New) to Additional Buttibori (Proposed); a 132 kV double circuit line of around 38 km from Kolari (Existing) to Umred (New); and LILO of various lines at 400/220/132 kV levels, along with other associated works.

Ex-IAS Awanish Awasthi’s tenure as UP CM’s advisor extended fourth time

By
LO Bureau
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Ex-IAS Awanish Awasthi

Former UP cadre IAS officer Awanish Awasthi’s tenure as advisor to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has been extended for the fourth time till February 28, 2027. He has been on uninterrupted extensions since 2023. Awasthi’s closeness with CM Yogi can be gauged from the fact that he was accompanying the CM on his five-day tour of Singapore and Japan to lure investors and just returned to Lucknow on Friday only to be greeted with another extension in a row.

This latest extension is being held in the bureaucratic circles as a Holi gift from CM Yogi to one of his most trusted lieutenants. 

Awasthi had been awarded a third extension for a year in 2025 following the conclusion of the Maha Kumbh. His tenure was due to expire on Feb 28, 2026.

Even during Yogi Adityanath’s first term as UP Chief Minister, Awanish Awasthi served as Principal Secretary in the crucial Home and Information Departments.

It needs special mention that a temporary post of administrative advisor was created to accommodate Awasthi after his retirement in 2022. After his first term ended on Feb 28, 2023, it was temporarily extended from March 1, 2023, to February 29, 2024. His term was then extended a second time, from March 1, 2024, to February 28, 2025. Then the third time from March 1, 2025, to Feb 28, 2026. And this is the fourth one, from March 1, 2026, to Feb 28, 2027. And the counting goes on….

However, Awasthi is not alone on Yogi’s advisory board. Rather, he is one of four advisors to the UP CM. The three others are GN Singh, KV Raju, and DP Singh. 

Awasthi’s close proximity to Yogi is hardly a secret, as he has been known as one of the most trusted advisors to the CM, and this latest extension is considered crucial as he will be serving as Yogi’s advisor in the run-up to the assembly elections scheduled to be held in 2027.

An IIT Kanpur alumnus and 1987 batch IAS, Awanish Awasthi retired from the post of Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) to the Chief Minister, Home and Confidentiality, and Civil Aviation on August 31, 2022.

Despite reshuffle in Haryana forest deptt ground reality exposes cadre mismatch

By
LO Bureau
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cadre mismatch in forests deptt

Despite the Haryana govt’s latest transfer and posting orders reshuffling Indian Forest Service (IFoS) and Haryana Forest Service (HFoS) officers across forest divisions, training institutes, wildlife wings, headquarters, and Haryana Forest Development Corporation (HFDC), the ground is: control of key forest divisions remains largely unchanged. A closer analysis of the Feb 20 order exposes a cadre mismatch between sanctioned cadre posts and actual postings.

That is the reason why, despite the reshuffle, a large number of IFoS officers remain in non-field or supervisory roles, even though their primary mandate is territorial forest management. Several officers continue in HFDC, headquarters-linked assignments, training or research posts, or against vacant and interim positions.

Several IFoS officers are posted to the positions officially earmarked as HFoS cadre posts. These include DFO (seed collection), Pinjore, GM HFDC, Kurukshetra, DCF Rewari, and Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) (training) at Sohna and Pinjore. The order itself annotates these posts as belonging to the State Service cadre, yet IFoS officers man them. As a result, All-India Service officers remain concentrated in monitoring, training, and specialised roles rather than senior territorial field positions.

Similarly, the reverse arrangement continues in frontline divisions. State Service officers are posted as Divisional Forest Officers (DFOs) in territorial divisions designated as IFoS cadre posts, which include Pinjore, Yamunanagar, and Nuh. The analysis of the order flagged these as senior IFS field postings, but HFoS officers continue to hold them after relieving IFoS officers.

The order also clarifies that DFO (HQ) is an HFoS cadre post, despite being a supervisory assignment, pointing to how cadre officers and posts are freely interchanged rather than aligned.

Haryana has 16 sanctioned DCF posts, the senior-most field positions meant to be held strictly by IFS officers. At present, only nine of these posts are occupied by cadre officers, with the remaining divisions run by HFoS officers, despite the fact that trained IFoS officers are available and waiting for posting.

The IFS Officers’ Association, in its representation to the Chief Secretary, on Feb 19, said the arrangement violates the IFS (Cadre) Rules, 1966, which require sanctioned IFS posts to be filled by cadre officers. Non-cadre appointments are allowed only in exceptional or temporary situations and require the central government’s approval if they continue beyond three months. The association said no such approval was obtained.

Bengal govt likely to send its panel for DGP appointment to UPSC by Feb 27

By
LO Bureau
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The West Bengal government is reliably learnt to be preparing its list of eligible IPS officers to forward it to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) by Feb 27 for the appointment of a regular DGP. The UPSC had asked the state govt to forward the list of eligible officers to it for consideration for a new DGP.

The IPS officer, Peeyush Pandey (IPS:1993:WB), is currently serving as the acting DGP. The last full-time DGP was Rajeev Kumar’s predecessor, Manoj Malviya, who retired in 2023.

According to government sources, the state govt has already started the process of selecting the officers for recommending them to the UPSC for shortlisting. It is being done after receiving the communication from the UPSC.

Going by the seniority list, the most probable name for the regular DGP post is Anuj Sharma (IPS:1991:WB), currently posted as the Director General of the West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services Department.

The other names likely to be included in the state govt’s panel are acting DGP Peeyush Pandey (IPS:1993:WB); Natarajan Ramesh Babu (IPS:1991:WB), serving as DG (Home Guard); Siddh Nath Gupta (IPS:1992:WB), currently posted as DG of the state correctional services; and Sanjay Singh (IPS:1993:WB), serving as DG of the Civil Defence department.

The state govt appointed Piyush Pandey as the acting DGP of the state police after the retirement of the other acting DGP, Rajeev Kumar, on January 31 this year.

Needless to point out here that there have been complications regarding the appointment of a regular DGP for the state for a long time. But after the Supreme Court’s Feb 5 order directing the UPSC to initiate the process for appointing a regular DGP in every state, it is now believed to finally break the deadlock.

Andhra court issues non-bailable arrest warrant against Bihar IPS Sunil Nayak

By
LO Bureau
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Sunil Kumar Nayak, IPS

The drama that unfolded with the arrest of senior Bihar IPS officer M Sunil Nayak by Andhra Pradesh police in Patna on Monday and his subsequent release on Tuesday due to denial of transit remand by the jurisdictional court continues unabated.

The Andhra Pradesh Police seems to be hell-bent on re-arresting him in connection with the alleged custodial torture case involving former YSR Congress MP and current Andhra Assembly Deputy Speaker K Raghu Ramakrishna Raju (RRR).

On Wednesday, Nayak, who is currently posted as Inspector General in the Bihar Fire Services Department, moved the Andhra High Court seeking anticipatory bail. The hearing on his bail petition is yet to begin. 

On Thursday, the Andhra Police secured a non-bailable arrest warrant against him from a mobile court in Guntur.

Just after securing the arrest warrant, the police swung into action and began efforts to locate and arrest him. But Nayak too moved to scuttle the Andhra Police action, as sources said soon after the report of the Guntur court issuing the arrest warrant, Nayak switched off his phone and went underground.

Naik, who moved to Andhra Pradesh on deputation, was serving as the DIG of the CID at the time the incident of alleged custodial torture of the then YSR Congress MP took place in 2021, resulting in Nayak being named as an accused in the case registered in the Nagarampalem police station in Guntur district.

Sunil Kumar Nayak IPS, Andhra Pradesh Police, Custodial torture case,

Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari recommended as Next Chief Justice of Madras High Court

By
LO Bureau
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The Supreme Court Collegium on Thursday (February 27, 2026) recommended the name of Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari as the next Chief Justice of the Madras High Court. He is currently serving as a Judge of the Kerala High Court.

The present Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava, will retire on March 5, 2026. The recommendation has been made before his retirement to avoid a vacancy.

Now, the proposal will go to the President of India. After the President approves it and issues the warrant of appointment, Justice Dharmadhikari will take oath as the 55th Chief Justice of the Madras High Court.

Supreme Court Collegium recommends elevation of 9 Advocates as Patna High Court Judges

By
LO Bureau
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Patna High Court

The Supreme Court Collegium in its meeting held on February 26, 2026, recommended the elevation of nine Advocates as Judges of the Patna High Court.

The recommended names are:

  1. Md. Nadim Seraj
  2. Ranjan Kumar Jha
  3. Kumar Manish
  4. Sanjeev Kumar
  5. Girijish Kumar
  6. Alok Kumar
  7. Raj Kumar
  8. Rana Vikram Singh
  9. Vikash Kumar
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