Chandigarh, April 7 -- In a significant administrative reshuffle, the Punjab government on Monday appointed 1992-batch IPS officer and special DGP Sharad Satya Chauhan as the chief director of the Vigilance Bureau. The appointment comes on a day the government also sent a list of eligible officers to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for the selection of the next director general of police (DGP). Chauhan, a batchmate of incumbent DGP Gaurav Yadav, is the senior-most IPS officer presently serving in Punjab. Parag Jain, a 1989-batch officer who is otherwise the senior-most in the Punjab cadre, is currently on central deputation, heading India's premier external intelligence agency, the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW). Many senior officials in the state government believe that Chauhan's appointment as VB chief could bolster Yadav's chances of continuing in the top post. Harpreet Singh Sidhu, another batchmate of Yadav, is the only officer senior to him whose name features in the UPSC panel. Sidhu has been without a posting since returning from central deputation in September 2025. Chauhan replaces PK Sinha, a 1994-batch IPS officer, who has been posted as officer on special duty (OSD), law and order, till April 30. He will subsequently take over as special DGP, law and order, from May 1 following the superannuation of incumbent Arpit Shukla. In another key move, 1997-batch IPS officer Arun Pal Singh, who was serving as ADGP (jails), has been appointed managing director of the Punjab Police Housing Corporation, Mohali, replacing Chauhan. RK Jaiswal, also from the 1997 batch, will continue as ADGP (NRI) along with the additional charge of ADGP (jails). Meanwhile, 1994-batch IPS officer Ram Singh will continue as special DGP, technical support services, and has been given additional charge of special DGP-cum-commandant general, Punjab Home Guards, and director, civil defence. Among younger officers, 2011-batch IPS officer Gurmeet Singh Chauhan, currently DIG, anti-gangster task force (AGTF), has been placed at the disposal of the DGP to decide his next posting....