It is around three weeks from Sunday January 22 now when Jharkhand will have a new Director General of Police. The present DGP Niraj Sinha's extended tenure ends on February 11, 2023 and the Jharkhand government has to have its new DGP in office on February 12,2023 positively. Highly placed sources said the state government has given in writing to the Apex Court about having a new DGP functioning on February 12.
The extended tenure of the present DGP Niraj Sinha although he had superannuated on January 31, 2022, had seen writ filed with the Apex Court where in the two stake holders the Jharkhand state and the UPSC were at loggerheads. However now the legal battle is legally resolved the UPSC sent the 3 names out of which one is to be picked for appointment as DGP by the state government.
Sources said the UPSC has sent a list of 3 IPS officers of Jharkhand cadre to the state government to appoint one as its DGP. The UPSC has shortlisted 3 names out of recommended names, not confirmed 5 or 7, as sent by the state government to the UPSC. The 3 names as sent by the UPSC to Jharkhand state and doing the rounds here are Ajay Bhatnagar, Ajay Kumar Singh and Anil Palta. Bhatnagar a 1989 batch Jharkhand cadre IPS officer is now joint director CBI in Delhi.
Singh is also a 1989 batch Jharkhand cadre IPS officer and presently he is DG cum Chief of the anti corruption bureau which is his additional charge in the state here. Anil Palta is a 1990 batch IPS officer and is DG railways in Jharkhand.
Sources said the state government is favourably disposed towards Ajay Kumar Singh as Bhatnagar is set to be further up in the CBI and Palta is a junior by one year to both Bhatnagar and Singh.
Sources said Niraj Sinha a 1987 batch IFS officer has his immediate fellow Satya Narayan Pradhan who is a 1988 batch IPS officer but this officer is Director General National Disaster Response Force holding additional charge of the civil defence and home guards Delhi and as per versions of some big police officers Pradhan has declined to be in here as a result the UPSC has not listed him despite being a 1988 batch IPS officer senior to all three as listed by the UPSC, Bhatnagar Singh and Palta.
If bureaucratic circles and police mandarins are to be believed then the hot seat is to have Ajay Kumar Singh man from Uttar Pradesh who will be having around 2 years stint as DGP Jharkhand since the UPSC too asks for a minimum of 2 years tenure of the DGP in the states. This correspondent spoke to some IPS officers who under the condition of strict confidentiality said Ajay Kumar Singh is all set to be the new DGP Jharkhand on /from February 12.
