Alok Verma took over as the Director General (DG) of Delhi Prisons on Tuesday. Verma, a 1979 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Arunachal, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre officer was posted as Special Commissioner of Police, Administration with Delhi Police.

He was appointed as DG of Delhi Prisons after the Delhi Government removed Vimla Mehra from the post and asked her to hand over the charge to the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Mukesh Prasad. In another significant development, Sunil Gupta, spokesperson of Delhi Prisons was removed from the post and the same was handed over to DIG Mukesh Prasad.

Verma held many posts in Delhi Police after he joined the AGMUT cadre. He was DCP, South district and then moved on to Central deputation. He returned to Delhi Police from Andaman and Nicobar islands after serving as the IGP there. He was appointed the Joint CP, Crime, Joint CP, New Delhi range before moving to Puducherry as the DGP. He returned to Delhi Police as Special CP, Intelligence and later served as Special CP, Vigilance as well. He was sent to Mizoram as the DGP and joined Delhi Police back as Special CP, Administration, considered the No. 2 post in the hierarchy.

Meanwhile, Special, Secretary of Delhi Government’s Home Department Gl Meena said, “Prasad has been appointed as Public Relations Officer (Prisons) in Central Jail by the Department of Home, Government of NCT of Delhi,” while adding, that the order to appoint Prasad were issued by the Government on Tuesday while removing Gupta from the post.

Meena further said that the competent authority has desired that henceforth, prior to going to the media, the information/matter may be brought to the notice of the competent authority for obtaining approval/consent. Prison sources said that removal of Gupta from the post of PRO can be linked to Vimla Mehra’s summary removal from the DG’s post. Some of the stories which appeared in the media regarding Mehra’s transfer and those related to Delhi Prisons were not liked by higher authorities and that is the reason why it has been mandated that, in future, information will be provided to the media only after obtaining “consent” from the “competent authority”. 

Former Tihar Jail Director General Vimla Mehra, the second woman to serve as DG Tihar after Kiran Bedi, was transferred from her post on July 17 by the Union Home Ministry. She had run into controversy after she unveiled her own lifesize statute in jail no.1. It was for the first time in the history of Tihar Jail, a serving DG had used her powers to install her own statue. Source said the DG had violated laid down strictures by sanctioning Rs 30 lakh from the prisoners’ welfare fund for her own statue.