Kaun Banega DGP

Kaun Banega DGP is the  big  question on the lips of one and all. The appointment of the Director General of Police (DGP) always generate interest not only among the police force but also in public at large. Who would be the next super cop when the current incumbent Manoj Bhatt retires on July 31 this year is a matter of speculation. He will complete a term of two and a half years but the buzz is that he may get an extension by a few months.

Many aspirants for the top job are already doing hectic lobbying. But the latest indications are Sudhir Pratap Singh (1984 batch),the current Director General  of NSG  posted in New Delhi  and the additional director general O P Galhotra have also joined the race for the post of DGP.  The choice of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje certainly goes beyond the senior-most officer Navdeep Singh, but not beyond O P Galhotra,a 1985 batch officer. If elevated to the  position of DGP,Galhotra  will have to be first promoted as  director general. She would take up the issue of choosing the next DGP after her return from Patiala on Friday.

There are four persons who are currently  director generals and  all are in line for the DGP post. DGP (Home Guards)Navdeep Singh (1981 batch), the current Border Security Force (BSF) Director General  K K Sharma (1982 batch), the Director General of Prison, Ajit Singh Shekhawat (1982 batch) and  Sudhir Pratap Singh (1984 batch),who is  currently the director general of National Security Guards (NSG), a force under the Union Home Ministry. Thus Navdeep Singh,who has served earlier as the DG of Anti Corruption  Bureau (ACB) is the senior most officer gunning for the top job. If chosen as the DGP, he would hold the post till June 2018. His junior by a batch Shekhawat will be able to hold the post for four months only. KK Sharma as director  general of BSF will retire in September 2018. Sharma is unlikely to return to head the state police force as he will not be relieved by the Union Home Ministry at this juncture.

Navdeep Singh is the senior most officer and if the seniority remains the paramount consideration he should get his due like Ashok Jain got it when he was elevated as the Chief Secretary. The detractors  of Navdeep Singh have been raising the issue of his “connection” with the Congress as his wife  Dr Param Navdeep was an MLA of the party.

Ajit Singh,who has a reputation of an honest and competent officer,  has  perhaps the best and  clean record. He  was specially deputed to look after the law and order situation in Sanwrad in Nagaur district in the wake of Anandpal encounter. The DG of Prison was  specially deputed as a part of the strategy to appease the Rajput community. But the mob at Sanwrad took to violence and arm snatching resulting in the death of a person, who was later identified as Surendra Singh,a Rajput.

But Shekhawat would retire in November 2017, a year before the next Assembly election. Thus the BJP government would not be getting adequate  political mileage by making him DGP for just four months. Even Navdeep Singh will have less that a year as DGP and Sharma, if chosen will serve for more than a year.

Sudhir Pratap Singh, is the brother of the Union minister  Rudra Pratap Singh Rudy. He is a Rajput from Bihar and if the  BJP government is keen on appeasing the Rajput community, his name could be considered apart from   Shekhawat. In that case,he would be superseding Kapil Garg (1983)and Santosh Sharma (1983).