Dilbag Singh took over as the new DGP of Jammu and Kashmir Police yesterday after his predecessor S P Vaid, caught in a verbal duel with the new state administration, was shunted out and posted as transport commissioner.

Singh, a 1987-batch IPS officer from the state, took over as the new police chief at a simple ceremony. He continues to hold the charge of Director-General (Prisons). It was believed that the reason behind the sudden transfer of Vaid, a 1986-batch IPS officer, was continuous friction over interference in police work by state's bureaucracy.