GC Murmu sworn-in as first Lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir

SRINAGAR: Girish Chandra Murmu was on Thursday sworn in as the first lieutenant governor of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir following the bifurcation of the state.nnThe oath of office to Murmu, who will turn 60 next month, was administered by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Justice Gita Mittal at a simple function held at Raj Bhawan at the foothills of the Zaberwan range.nnThe warrant of appointment of Murmu, a 1985 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre, was read out by Chief Secretary B V R Subrahmanyam.nnBJP leader Jugal Kishore and Rajya Sabha MP and PDP member Nazir Laway were among the over 250 guests present at the function.nnMurmu, a native of Odisha, had worked closely with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Gujarat as his additional principal secretary during his tenure as chief minister.nnMurmu is an MBA in public service and also holds a post graduate in political science.nnSatya Pal Malik, who was the last governor of Jammu and Kashmir, moved to Goa for the remainder of his tenure as governor.nnMalik was first appointed governor of Bihar in September 2017 and moved to Jammu and Kashmir in August last year.nnThe two union territories — Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir — came into existence on Thursday after the central government abrogated the special status of the state and bifurcated it on August 5.nnSource: Press Trust of India