Arunachal Pradesh Appoints New Police Chief Following High-Stakes Siang Dam Protests
Arunachal Pradesh has named senior IPS officer Rajesh Kumar as its new Director General of Police, succeeding outgoing chief SDS Jamwal. The leadership transition follows intense civil unrest regarding proposed mega-dam initiatives in the sensitive border region.
- Rajesh Kumar, a 1995-batch Indian Police Service officer, has officially taken charge as the new Director General of Police for Arunachal Pradesh.
- The high-level administrative reshuffle arrives immediately on the heels of violent public demonstrations opposing the controversial Siang hydroelectric project.
- The transition marks a pivotal shift in state security management as local communities fiercely resist major infrastructural encroachments.
ITANAGAR — In a swift administrative overhaul, the Arunachal Pradesh administration has named seasoned Indian Police Service officer Rajesh Kumar as the state's new Director General of Police, taking over leadership from outgoing police chief SDS Jamwal. Kumar, belonging to the 1995 batch, steps into the critical security role at a time of heightened tension across the strategically vital frontier region.
The high-profile leadership change directly follows a wave of fierce public unrest centered around the contentious Siang dam initiative. Local populations have mobilized aggressively in recent days to contest the massive hydroelectric venture, expressing deep-seated anxieties over ecological displacement, loss of indigenous livelihoods, and the broader environmental ramifications of heavy industrial intervention in the pristine Himalayan terrain.
According to reports by The Hindu, the sudden police leadership transition highlights the administration's urgency in recalibrating its security posture and crisis management strategies. Civil society groups and local stakeholders have maintained intense pressure on regional authorities, demanding immediate transparency and a wholesale reassessment of mega-infrastructure projects slated for the ecologically sensitive river basin.
