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Gujarat gets Muslim police chief
Shabbir Hussain Shekhadam Khandwawala was named Gujarat's new police chief, seven years after the state was enveloped by communal violence.
Shabbir Hussain Shekhadam Khandwawala was on Saturday named Gujarat's new police chief, seven years after the state was enveloped by communal violence.
Khandwawala, a 1973 Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and a Muslim by faith, succeeds PC Pande, who was the Ahmedabad police commissioner when the 2002 violence took place.
The Gujarat government announced a major reshuffle in the police force ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
According to an official statement, Khandwawala was director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), a post that now goes to Pande.
Pande, a 1972 batch IPS officer, was accused of inaction during the 2002 attacks on Muslims. The Election Commission had ordered Pande's transfer ahead of the December 2007 assembly elections.
S.K. Saikia, a 1977 batch IPS officer, has been named the Ahmedabad police commissioner. Incumbent O.P. Mathur will be the commissioner of communication.
