SRINAGAR: The replacement of the Jammu and Kashmir Police’s intelligence chief, A G Mir, with Dr B Srinivas, has fuelled speculations that the state’s top cop S P Vaid may also face axe following the kidnapping fiasco last week.

According to reports, Vaid, a 1986-batch IPS officer who took over in January 2017 as the Director General of J&K Police, is being considered to be replaced either by SN Sahay, who has earlier served in the state, Dilbhagh Singh or VK Singh.

The move comes after A G Mir, the additional director general of police (Criminal Investigation Department) was replaced by Dr B Srinivas yesterday on the recommendations of the Centre with more changes in the police’s top brass likely to be effected in coming days.

Mir was appointed as the intelligence chief of the state police by the PDP-BJP coalition government led by Mehbooba Mufti.

"@JmuKmrPolice has been fighting a proxy war for decades which requires a lot of courage & determination of the men & officers of JKP. Speculative articles which undermine their morale should be avoided. @ndtv as regards to transfer, it's routine matter & prerogative of the govt,” Mr Vaid tweeted in response to the reports of his ouster on the NDTV channel.

Reports said the change in guard at the top is likely to take place before the state goes to municipal polls slated be held in four phases from October 1 to October 5 which will be followed by the Panchayat polls that will take place in eight phases from November 8 to December 4.

According to reports, the union home ministry has expressed displeasure over the manner in which the police handled the situation last week after three cops and eight relatives of policemen were kidnapped by militants in south Kashmir last Thursday.

The abductees were released hours after the state police released around a dozen family members of militants, including Asadullah Naikoo, the father of Hizbul Mujahideen Kashmir chief Riyaz Naikoo.

The abduction spree came after forces gunned down Altaf Kachroo, the Hizb’s deputy field operations commander in Kashmir which was followed by a deadly attack by militants that left four police personnel dead in Shopian district.

In retaliation, the police carried out raids in dozens of villages across south Kashmir, detaining at least two dozen persons accused of links with militants while the houses of two active militants from south Kashmir were also burnt down.

The J&K Police is in the process of revising its list of over ground workers (OGWs) of militants with dozens of former OGWs being called to police stations for questioning, hinting at the intensification of crackdown on militancy in Kashmir in coming days.