PANAJI
Former North Goa Collector Sneha Gitte has been transferred to Arunachal Pradesh, order that incidentally comes after the Goa government-appointed fact-finding committee indicted her and others for lapses that led to a stampede at the Shirgao Zatra festival this month.
The transfer, part of a major reshuffle of AGMUT cadre IAS and IPS officers by the Ministry of Home Affairs, also includes the posting of Gitte’s husband and former South Goa Collector, Asvin Chandru, to Arunachal Pradesh.
Yashawini B, who had been given additional charge of North Goa Collector after Gitte’s internal removal following the stampede, has also been reassigned to Arunachal Pradesh. She currently serves as Director of Fisheries too.
While the MHA did not publicly link selective transfer to the Shirgao incident but the timing of Gitte’s reshuffle comes days after the committee led by IAS officer Sandip Jacques pointed out gaps in planning and crowd control.
The reshuffle included several other high-level transfers, with Secretary (Health) Arun Kumar Mishra being moved from Goa to Delhi. Secretary for Industries, Trade and Commerce and a former Director of Goa Tourism, Suneel Anchipaka, has also been shifted to Delhi.
Goan IAS officers of 2013 batch Sanjiv Gadkar and Yetindra Maralkar have been transferred from Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, respectively.
Shakeel Ul Rehman Rather, also from the 2013 batch, has been posted to Goa from Jammu & Kashmir. Santosh Sukhadeve (2017) is transferred from Ladakh and Arjun Mohan (2019) from Lakshadweep.
In the IPS, Keshav Ram Chaurasia (2003 batch) has been transferred from Delhi to Goa, while Additional Director General of Goa Police Omvir Singh has been moved from Goa to Delhi.
