Department heads shuffled in shakeup of police leadership

Acting Police Commissioner Ahmed Areef has shuffled senior officers in charge of various police departments in a shakeup of the top leadership posts.

Areef was appointed acting police chief after former Police Commissioner Hussain Waheed and two deputy commissioners were transferred to government ministries, a day before Vice President Ahmed Adeeb’s arrest on suspicion of links to a blast on the president’s speedboat.

President Abdulla Yameen said in a public address on Sunday that his deputy was obstructing the investigation into the alleged assassination attempt by exerting undue influence over the police force. Yameen acknowledged that the removal of the police chief and his deputies was prompted by “the extent of the vice president’s influence”.

According to the police, yesterday’s changes are part of “efforts underway to improve the quality of the police’s services to the public and to increase the public’s trust and confidence”.