In a sudden move, the lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung transferred the Delhi Prisons Director General (DG) Vimla Mehra to Delhi Police. Her services have been placed at the disposal of the Delhi Police Commissioner and her new posting will be decided later. Mehra’s orders were signed by the lt Governor after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) gave its nod. Her transfer has upset the whole chain in Arunachal Goa Mizoram and Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre and it will impact the chances of senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officers who are eyeing Delhi Police Chief’s post after current incumbent BS Bassi moves out. Apart from Mehra’s transfer to Delhi Police, the MHA also moved an order to transfer four Special CP rank officers to Delhi Police against the existing vacancy of two posts. This will also create a host of problems for the Delhi Police Commissioner who will have to wait for the creation of posts for these officers by the MHA.
Well-placed sources said that Vimla Mehra, an IPS officer of 1978 batch, had submitted a representation to the MHA that she had completed her two-year tenure and she should be transferred back to Delhi Police. MHA is believed to have agreed to her representation and gave its approval to the lt Governor and the orders for her transfer to Delhi Police were issued on Wednesday. The formal orders were served to the Delhi Police Head Quarters. The order said that she should hand over the charge to the DIG Mukesh Prasad and report to the Delhi Police Commissioner.
Mehra’s transfer has queered the pitch for many senior IPS officers as the calculation in the PHQ has been unsettled. There has been a tradition to appoint the second senior most IPS officer in Delhi Police as the Special CP, Administration, considered to be number No.2 in the force. Current Special CP Administration Alok Verma is from the 1979 batch, while Mehra is one batch senior. Sources added that it is not in the rule book to post the second senior most IPS against this post and the ball is now in Bassi’s court as his recommendation for Mehra’s posting will carry wait.
In another significant order, the MHA ordered the transfers of Amulya Patnaik (1985 batch), P Kamraj (87 batch), Arvind Deep and Balaji Srivastava (both of 88 batch) to Delhi Police. These officers are currently serving as Additional DGs in the cadre and will be posted as Special CPs in Delhi Police. Mehra’s transfer to Delhi Police has left a vacancy while KK Maheshwari, the DG, Home Guards is slated to retire in September. There are two vacancies in Delhi Police for Special CPs and it would be interesting to watch the next transfers. SK Gautam and Sunil Garg the two Joint CPs of has been transferred to Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Aruchal Pradesh respectively. AS Cheema, Additional CP Traffic has been sent to Chandigarh while V Renganathan the Additional Commissioner of Anti-Corruption Branch was transferred to Goa.