Punjab Govt appoints IPS Mohammad Mustafa as STF
Punjab Govt appoints IPS Mohammad Mustafa as DGP/STF The Punjab government has appointed 1985-batch IPS officer Mohammad Mustafa as new chief of the Special Task Force (STF) on Drugs. He is the second STF chief, who would be replacing 1992-batch IPS officer Harpreet Sidhu. A tussle between Sidhu and DGP Suresh Arora led to the replacement of Sidhu. He will now be given charge of Special Principal Secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office. He is the first police officer to be appointed in the CMO. A posting in the CMO appears to be a smart move considering Sidhu’s many “admirers” within the Council of Ministers as well as among Congress MLAs. According to the sources, the decision to replace Sidhu was taken as CM Capt Amarinder Singh as he wanted a single line of command in Punjab Police. Sidhu was reporting directly to the CM, and was “resisting” the move to report to the DGP. Officials said the new STF chief, Mohd Mustafa, would be reporting to the DGP. A formal notification to bring STF under the Punjab police will be issued on Monday. Officials say the STF will be a separate wing in Punjab Police, but will be under the direct command of DGP, Punjab. The Punjab State Narcotics Control Bureau too will be merged with the STF on drugs. By appointing Mustafa as STF chief, the Punjab Government seems to have also ensured that he is out of the race for the post of Punjab Police chief. Also Read: Congress municipal councillor held for murder of SAD worker, wife’s murder -PTC NEWS
