Chandigarh, Jan 1 (PTI) The Punjab government has appointed senior IPS officer B Chandra Sekhar as the Director of the Bureau of Investigation, according to an official order.

He succeeds Additional Director General of Police S K Ashthana, who had proceeded on leave.

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Asthana, in a letter to former state police chief Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota, had cited some legal hurdles in conducting reinvestigation into drug cases against Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia.

Asthana's letter had leaked on social media, causing major embarrassment to the Congress-led state government.

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According to the order on transfers and new postings, senior IPS officer A K Pandey has been promoted as the Additional Director General of Police, Special Protection Unit.

Six district police chiefs have also been shifted by the state government.

J Elenchezian has been given the charge as Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Khanna, replacing Balwinder Singh.

Harkamalapreet Singh Khakh, who was the SSP of Kapurthala, has been posted as the Assistant Inspector General, Counter Intelligence.

Khakh was the SSP when a man was beaten to death over an alleged sacrilege bid at a gurdwara in Kapurthala. Later, a murder case was registered against the gurdwara caretaker.

Dayama Harish Omprakash will be the new Kapurthala SSP, the order stated.

IPS officer Charanjit Singh has been appointed as the SSP of Moga, while Deepak Pareek has been given the charge as SSP Mansa.

Gaurav Toora has been posted as SSP Batala and Sandeep Garg is the new Patiala SSP.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)