Amaravati, Jun 20 (IANS): Dwaraka Tirumala Rao has been appointed as the new Director General of Police of Andhra Pradesh.

Tirumala Rao, an IPS officer of 1989 batch who was serving as Commissioner, Public Transport Department and Ex Officio Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC), has been transferred and posted as DGP, Coordination.

He shall hold full additional charge of the post of Director General of Police (Head of Police Force) until further orders, according to an order issued by Chief Secretary Neerabh Kumar Prasad.

Tirumala Rao succeeds Harish Kumar Gupta, who was appointed DGP by the Election Commission of India, which had transferred K. V. Rajendranath Reddy on May 6, a few days before the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

Harish Kumar Gupta has now been posted as Principal Secretary (Home), a post he was holding before his appointment as the DGP.

Tirumala Rao's appointment as the DGP was the second key change after the TDP-Jana Sena-BJP alliance came to power in the state.

On June 7, Neerabh Kumar Prasad was appointed as the new Chief Secretary in place of K. S. Jawahar Reddy, who went on leave following a change of guard in the state.

The new Chief Secretary was appointed even before N. Chandrababu Naidu took oath as the Chief Minister on June 12.

Jawahar Reddy had come under severe criticism from the TDP for his approach during the elections allegedly favouring then ruling party YSR Congress.

On June 19, the new government carried out the first major reshuffle of senior bureaucrats, transferring at least 19 IAS officers.

A few bureaucrats, who were considered close to former chief minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, were not given new postings and were directed to report to the General Administration Department (GAD).