Bengaluru, June 30: Senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer T.M. Vijay Bhaskar will be Karnataka's new Chief Secretary, replacing K. Ratna Prabha who retired on superannuation on Saturday, an official notification said.

A 1983-batch officer of the Karnataka cadre, Bhaskar, 57, was earlier the Additional Chief Secretary to the state government.

He was the former Bengaluru civic body's administrator.

Prabha, 59, was on a three-month extension since April 1 due to the Assembly poll on May 12 in the southern state.

She was the first Dalit woman to become Chief Secretary in Karnataka and the third woman officer to hold the top administrative post.

On her retirement from office, Prabha in a tweet said: "It is time to hang my boots and cannot believe 37 years of service is over...My USP has been public grievances."

"...I appeal to my fellow officers to make it a habit to meet people and help at least one person a day no matter how busy you are...I have followed this all my life and it has never let me down."

Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara said Prabha has been a pillar of strength to women in Karnataka.

"Good officers lead by example. Your zeal to solve people's problems will always be remembered. You are a pillar of strength to many women in Karnataka..," Parameshwara tweeted.

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Ghaziabad (UP) (PTI): The Ghaziabad Police has suspended four personnel over presumed negligence and dereliction of duty after a detainee suffered severe injuries while allegedly fleeing from custody, a police official said on Friday.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (Modinagar) Bhaskar Verma said one Amit Kumar (35), an outsourced employee at Patla Nagar Panchayat, was allegedly drinking alcohol with three of his friends at a public place on Tuesday night. When Niwari police station arrived and reprimanded them, an altercation ensued, and Amit was subsequently detained.

While police were taking him for medical examination at Community Health Centre Muradnagar, Amit reportedly jumped from the moving police vehicle near the health centre to escape. As he ran towards the Delhi-Meerut highway, he was hit by an oncoming truck and sustained severe injuries. He was rushed to Yashoda Hospital in Nehru Nagar, where he is currently undergoing treatment in the ICU.

The police personnel allegedly failed to report the truck accident to their senior officers initially, claiming instead that Amit had fallen and injured himself while attempting to flee.

The incident sparked outrage among locals and the family of the detainee, who alleged that Amit was brutally thrashed while in custody.

On Thursday, protesters gathered outside the Niwari police station for nearly an hour, raising slogans against the police. The situation was eventually brought under control after officials assured that stringent action would be taken.

In response, a delegation of Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) leaders met Police Commissioner J Ravindra Goud to submit a formal complaint demanding accountability for the Niwari police station personnel.

On Thursday evening, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rural) Surendra Nath Tiwari issued the suspension order against Patla police outpost in-charge Sub-Inspector Lokendra, Sub-Inspector Shaid Khan, Head Constable Sachin Mohan and Constable Narendra.

Additionally, the role of Niwari Station House Officer KK Maurya is under investigation, and a departmental inquiry has been initiated against the errant personnel, Verma said.