After initially protesting the Election Commission’s recommendation of Ajit Joy as the new Superintendent of Police for Saran (Chapra), the Bihar government today bowed down to the EC’s order and okayed the appointment of Joy, who replaces Ganesh Kumar Yadav. Yadav was shifted on the order of the EC for alleged irregularities during the April 26 polls in Chapra.Official sources in Patna said that after replacing Ganesh Kumar Yadav, the state government had suggested the names of Shobha Ahotkar (Superintendent of Police, Special Branch), A.K. Ambedkar (SP, Bhojpur) and Shoib Khan (SP, Lakhisarai), but the EC recommended the name of Joy instead. The Bihar government then wrote a protest letter to the EC objecting to its recommendation of Joy’s name, but the EC stuck to its decision and asked the Bihar government to appoint Joy.The choice of a new SP for Saran (Chapra) had become a bone of contention between the state government and the EC. Joy, an IPS officer of the 1992 batch, is currently the SP of the Cabinet Vigilance Department.The repoll in Chapra is scheduled for May 31 and the contest is essentially between RJD chief and Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav, and former civil aviation minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy. The Bihar government had appointed A.K. Verma as the DIG (Saran range), replacing Ganesh Yadav.
