By IANS,
Shimla: D.S. Manhas was Wednesday appointed as the new director general of police of Himachal Pradesh, an official said here.
Manhas, a 1977-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, replaces G.S. Gill, who retired Wednesday after serving as the state police chief for two years.
“Manhas has been appointed as the new DGP,” Principal Secretary (Home) Subhash Chander Negi told IANS.
Manhas was earlier the state’s vigilance and anti-corruption bureau chief.
During his stint as vigilance chief, he handled several high-profile cases of corruption and disproportionate assets including one against union Minister for Steel Virbhadra Singh and his wife and former Congress MP Pratibha Singh.
Gill, a 1974-batch IPS officer, took charge in August 2008. Before that he was on deputation with the Border Security Force.
Gill, who proceeded on a two-month leave before his retirement, Wednesday joined duty but only for a day.
By appointing Manhas, the state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has overlooked four officers, who were senior to him.
They were Sohan Singh, director general (prisons), Ajit Lal, special director with the Intelligence Bureau (IB) in New Delhi, R.N. Gupta, also with the IB, and Anirudh Uppal, who is with the National Security Guard.