Srinagar, Nov 11 (PTI) Senior IPS officer Vidhi Kumar Birdi on Thursday took over as the Inspector General of Police Kashmir, officials said.

Birdi, a 2003 batch IPS officer of the AGMUT cadre, replaced Vijay Kumar who had held the post from December 2019.

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Birdi has served in Jammu and Kashmir in several capacities, including as SSP Kupwara, DIG North Kashmir Range (NKR) and DIG Central Kashmir Range.

He also served in various capacities during his tenure on central deputation, including as DIG CBI and DIG NIA. He was posted as DIG Central Kashmir Range at the time of the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution in August 2019.

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During his central deputation, the officer was repatriated to J&K prematurely in September at the request of the UT government when he was serving as IG CRPF, Jharkhand sector.

After taking over, Birdi held a meeting over law and order and security challenges in the valley.

Birdi stressed upon the officers to make good public relations and focus on people-sensitive policing.

Addressing public grievances should be the top most priority of the valley police besides their operational and crime-related commitments.

(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)