Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav has been empanelled for the post of Director-General at the Centre — making him eligible for heading a central security force or agency.
Yadav, a 1992-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, has now surpassed several senior officers, both at the state and national level, for this role. The development is particularly significant as Yadav was appointed as Punjab’s officiating DGP in July 2022, bypassing the usual empanelment process by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
His appointment came after his predecessor, VK Bhawra, proceeded on leave, and the Punjab Government chose not to send a fresh panel of names to the UPSC, allowing him to continue in the role. Now, with his official empanelment at the Centre, his authority within the Punjab Police force has been further solidified.
The empanelment was cleared by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on Monday, alongside five other IPS officers for top central positions. Yadav is the only officer from the 1992 Punjab cadre to be included in this list. Others empanelled include Nuzhat Hassan (1991 AGMUT cadre), D Tirumala Rao (1989 Andhra Pradesh cadre), Aditya Misra (1989 Uttar Pradesh cadre), and Idashisha Nongrang (1992 Assam-Meghalaya cadre).
With this, Yadav has surpassed several IPS officers who were senior to him in Punjab, including Special DG (State Task Force) Kuldeep Singh, Special DGP and Managing Director of Punjab Police Housing Corporation Dr SS Chauhan, and ITBP-deputed officer Harpreet Singh Sidhu. Notably, Parag Jain and Sanjeev Kalra from the 1989 batch, who are senior to Yadav, have not received empanelment for equivalent roles.
Yadav’s empanelment comes at a crucial time for Punjab, which continues to battle rising gang violence, drug trafficking, and cross-border security threats. His growing influence at the Centre could prove beneficial in securing stronger cooperation between Punjab Police and national security agencies.
Under his leadership, Punjab Police has intensified its crackdown on organized crime, with major operations targeting gangsters, drug cartels, and extremist elements. His elevation to a central role also opens doors for Punjab to seek faster extradition of criminals hiding abroad, a key demand of the state police.
With his retirement due in April 2029, Yadav’s empanelment paved the way for his potential elevation to a central security force, ensuring a long-term impact on both Punjab and national security operations.