PUDUCHERRY: B Srinivas took over as the new Director General of Puducherry Police on Thursday, the first IPS officer from erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir cadre to head a police force after its merger with the Union Territory cadre. Credited with the revival of intelligence operations in the Kashmir Valley after the 2010 unrest, Srinivas assumed office at the Puducherry Police headquarters at Dumas Street here. Puducherry comprises two districts, Karaikal and Puducherry. Puducherry district comprises the Puducherry region and outlying administrative units of Mahe and Yanam, which are enclaves in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh respectively. The 1991-batch IPS officer brings with him expertise in improving intelligence mechanisms in the coastal areas of Puducherry and Mahe. Immediately after taking over, Srinivas called on Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and Chief Minister N Rangaswamy. After the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and division into two union territories in 2019, the erstwhile state’s police cadre was merged with the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre.