Rakesh Asthana, the 1984 batch IPS officer of Gujarat cadre, took charge as the Commissioner of Police (CP) Delhi on Wednesday. He was accorded the ceremonial guard of honour by the police force upon his arrival at the Delhi Police Headquarters in the national Capital.
While talking to reporters, Asthana said, "I believe in the basic concepts of policing, that is, maintenance of law and order, prevention of crime that is the basic thing which police is supposed to do".
“If these things are done properly, peace prevails in society. There are certain specialised problems, for which there are separate SOPs. We will work accordingly,” he added.
The newly-appointed CP also praised the city police for its past performances and said that he hopes to work in tandem with everyone to ensure the betterment of society.
“Delhi Police has a brilliant past. Lot of good work has been done by the force in the past. Lot of complicated cases have been solved. Lot of complicated situations have been handled by the Delhi Police. I believe in team work and I hope with this team work, we will be able to put our best foot forward for the betterment of society and prevalence of peace,” said Asthana.
According to a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) order issued on July 27, Asthana, currently serving as Director General of the Border Security Force (BSF), will join as the Delhi Police Commissioner with immediate effect. His appointment came just days before his superannuation on July 31. He will have a tenure of one year.
Earlier, on June 30, Balaji Shrivastava, the IPS 1988 batch was appointed as the Acting Delhi Police Commissioner.
This is one of the very few instances when an IPS officer outside of the AGMUT cadre has been appointed as the Delhi Police chief.
Asthana had also served as Director General, Narcotics Control Bureau and held the positions of Special Director, Central Bureau of Investigation, and Director General, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security. Earlier in Gujarat, he has served as Commissioner of Police in Surat and Vadodara cities.
Asthana did his graduation and post graduation from St. John’s College in Agra.
After taking charge, Asthana held a meeting with senior police officials in which he outlined basic policing – prevention and detection of crime and maintenance of law & order- and attention to special tasks as the priority areas for all to work upon.
The CP also stressed on community policing initiatives like Yuva, senior citizen services etc. “Detection of crime and strong preventive measures not only reduce the crime burden but also ensure a feeling of safety and security in the city, particularly among women and vulnerable groups, for which police should keep making more and more efforts,” said the CP during the meeting.
The CP also emphasized on team work and responsibility to achieve the goal of making Delhi Police one of the best metropolitan police in the world.