Punjab transfers 20 IAS officers: 6 DCs changed days before EVM checks

Chandigarh. Two days before voting machines are checked for the 2027 Assembly elections, Punjab has changed the Deputy Commissioners of six districts.

Ludhiana, Patiala, Mohali, Rupnagar, Tarn Taran and Barnala have new DCs. In all, the state government transferred 20 IAS officers on Tuesday. Chief Secretary KAP Sinha signed the order and told the officers to join right away.

Why does the timing matter?

The DC is also the district’s election officer. From Thursday, every EVM and VVPAT for the 2027 polls will be checked in all districts, with the district election officers in charge. Engineers from Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) will test the machines. Only the ones that pass will be used in the elections.

That means six districts will start this work under DCs who have just arrived.

Who is the new DC in each district?

– Ludhiana: Himanshu Aggarwal replaces Himanshu Jain

– Patiala: Himanshu Jain replaces Himanshu Aggarwal

– Mohali: Aaditya Dachalwal replaces Komal Mittal

– Rupnagar: Komal Mittal replaces Aaditya Dachalwal

– Tarn Taran: Nirmal Ouseppachan replaces Rahul

– Barnala: Abhijeet Kaplish replaces Harpreet Singh. Kaplish will also be Commissioner of the Barnala municipal corporation.

Put simply, the Ludhiana and Patiala DCs have swapped places, and so have the Mohali and Rupnagar DCs.

Why is Patiala’s change unusual?

Patiala now has its third DC this year. Varjeet Walia took over in January. Himanshu Aggarwal replaced him in April. Now Aggarwal leaves after seven months.

Himanshu Jain, who moves from Ludhiana to Patiala, had been Ludhiana DC since March 2025.

Which husband and wife were moved together?

Komal Mittal and Himanshu Aggarwal are married. Both are 2014-batch IAS officers, and both were moved in this order. Mittal had been Mohali DC since February 2025.

Where do the outgoing DCs of Tarn Taran and Barnala go?

Rahul had been Tarn Taran DC since October 2024. He ran the Tarn Taran by-election last November. He is now Managing Director of Milkfed, which sells Verka milk. He also gets the extra charge of Chief Executive of the Punjab Energy Development Agency, a post Kaplish held until now.

Harpreet Singh had been Barnala DC since January. He becomes Director, Sports and Youth Services, a charge Kaplish was also holding.

Who else has been moved?

– Rahul Gupta, Managing Director of Milkfed, becomes Special Secretary, Transport.

– Manisha Rana, Managing Director of PRTC, becomes Director, Promotion of Information Technology Industry. The post was vacant.

– Anupam Kaler, Commissioner of the Kapurthala municipal corporation, becomes Special Secretary, Defence Services Welfare.

– Davy Goyal, ADC (Rural Development) and ADC (General), Sri Muktsar Sahib, becomes Additional Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayats.

– Nikas Kumar, Additional Secretary, General Administration and Coordination, becomes Additional Secretary, Coordination, and Officer on Special Duty to the Chief Secretary. He takes over from Ouseppachan.

Which officers become ADCs?

– Kanchan, ADC (Rural Development) and ADC (General), Bathinda, becomes ADC (Rural Development), Sri Muktsar Sahib, replacing Davy Goyal.

– Krishna Pal Rajpoot, ADC (Rural Development), Ferozepur, becomes ADC (General), Ferozepur, replacing Amandeep Kaur-II.

– Sunil, SDM Balachaur, becomes ADC (Rural Development), Patiala, replacing Damanjit Singh Mann.

– Rakesh Kumar Meena, ADC (Rural Development), Hoshiarpur, becomes ADC (General), Pathankot. Arashdeep Singh Lobana was holding this post as an extra charge.

– Ayush Goel, SDM Tapa, becomes ADC (General), Mansa, replacing Poonam Singh.

– Pallavi Mishra, ADC (Rural Development), Amritsar, becomes ADC (General), Amritsar. The post was vacant.

– Shreyansee Jain, ADC (General), Ludhiana, becomes ADC, Jagraon, replacing Vineet Kumar.