In its first administrative reshuffle, the Hemant Soren government on Monday transferred senior IAS official Sunil Barnwal, who was principal secretary of CM Raghubar Das with extra charge as principal secretary of information and public relations department.

Barnwal, known to be close to Das, has been asked to join the department of personnel, administrative reforms and Rajbhasha till further orders.

In bureaucratic and political circles, Barnwal was seen as someone with enormous clout. Recently, a former bureaucrat openly blamed him for misleading Das and making him an unpopular CM.

On the move, a bureaucrat said it was obvious Hemant Soren would like his own choice in key posts. It being an alliance, the Congress and RJD too would like officials of their choice,” a senior bureaucrat said.

The bureaucratic circles have kept fingers crossed on the Hemant Soren government bringing in a new DGP in place of K.N. Choubey, who was the choice of the previous BJP-led dispensation.

The BJP, on its part, on Monday welcomed the new Jharkhand government’s decision to withdraw cases against “innocent” tribals who were “misled” into the pathalgadi agitation, but said it opposed the dropping of charges against the “masterminds and conspirators”.