IPS officer Basanth Kumar Rath removed as IGP (Traffic)

High profile IPS officer Basanth Kumar Rath was Tuesday removed as the inspector general of police (traffic) and attached to the office of Commandant General, Home Guards, officials said.

Rath was replaced by Alok Kumar, who was earlier posted as IGP security, the officials said.

Kumar, an IPS officer of 1997 batch, was instrumental in unearthing the petrol scam in the Army in Ladakh during his posting as SSP Leh in the early 2000s.

Rath had shot to fame for his unusual way of traffic management, which was very effective but also generated a lot of controversy.

The IPS officer from Orissa would dress in all black instead of donning the police uniform while on duty.

The social media savvy officer was hugely popular among the youngsters in Kashmir, a rarity for any police officer in the valley, as he would attend social functions like wedding functions of locals or just play cricket with boys in grounds of the city.

However, his stringent implementation of traffic rules meant he would court controversy very often.