LUCKNOW, Aug. 26 -- The central government on Monday approved the extension of inter-cadre deputation for senior IAS officer Anjaneya Kumar Singh for a year till August 2026. Singh is a 2005-batch officer of the Sikkim cadre, Singh, who had been serving as divisional commissioner of Moradabad, went on a 60-day leave after his deputation to Uttar Pradesh expired on August 14. The Uttar Pradesh government had formally requested the Centre to extend his deputation by one year, citing administrative continuity. With the extension, he is expected to continue serving in Uttar Pradesh. Singh gained prominence during his tenure as district magistrate of Rampur, where he took action against senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan. During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he was at loggerheads with SP leaders over strict enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct. Azam Khan allegedly made objectionable remarks against Singh, triggering a controversy. Singh subsequently lodged cases against both Azam Khan and his son Abdullah Azam. Singh was deputed to Uttar Pradesh in 2015, during the Samajwadi Party's tenure in the state. He held key positions in the irrigation department, commercial tax department and served as district magistrate in Bulandshahr, Fatehpur, and Rampur. In 2021, he was appointed divisional commissioner of Moradabad. During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav urged the ECI to remove Singh from his post in Moradabad. Later, when violence erupted in Sambhal in November 2024, Yadav publicly criticised Singh's handling of the situation....