Dinkar Gupta appointed new DGP of Punjab

CHANDIGARH: Senior IPS officer Dinkar Gupta was on Thursday appointed as the Punjab director general of police.
Gupta, a 1987 batch IPS officer, takes over the Punjab police’s command from the 1982-batch IPS officer Suresh Arora.

Arora was on an extension after his retirement on September 30 last year. Chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, who also heads the state home department, cleared Gupta’s appointment today morning.

On February 4, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) had cleared the panel of three 1987-batch IPS officers and had left it to the Punjab government to appoint one of them as the next state police head. The UPSC had finalized the panel of Dinkar Gupta (DGP intelligence), MK Tiwari (DGP-cum-MD Punjab Police Housing Corporation) and VK Bhawra (DGP provisioning and modernisation).

Interestingly, the UPSC had ignored the names of senior IPS officers, including the 1984-batch officer Samant Kumar Goel (presently with RAW), 1985-batch officer Mohammad Mustafa (DGP of anti-drug STF and Punjab state human rights commission) and 1986-batch officer Siddharth Chattopadhyaya (DGP PSPCL). Mustafa, who was a strong contender for the state police head and husband of Punjab cabinet minister Razia Sultana, has made it clear that he is going to challenge the UPSC’s decision before the Supreme Court.

Till today, Gupta was posted as DGP intelligence in Punjab involving the direct supervision of state intelligence wing, state anti-terrorist squad and organized crime control unit. Gupta was empaneled in April last year for appointment to additional director general level post at the Centre. He had earlier remained for eight years on central deputation with the Union ministry of home affairs from June 2004 to July 2012, where he headed the dignitary protection division of the MHA.