Amulya Patnaik has been appointed as the new Commissioner of Police of the national Capital. An IPS officer of 1985 batch of the Arunachal, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre, Patnaik pipped two contenders Dhramendra Kumar and Deepak Mishra of the 1984-batch. The top job in the Delhi Police fell vacant after the appointment of Alok Kumar Verma as the Director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Patnaik will be having a long tenure at the helm as he will retire in January, 2020.
Suave and known for his meticulous and no-nonsense approach to policing, Patnaik is a hard taskmaster. Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday issued orders for Patnaik’s appointment as the Commissioner of Police after Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) gave its approval.
Sources said Patnaik, currently holding the number two position as Special Commissioner of Police (Administration), was in the reckoning despite two of his seniors Deepak Mishra and Dharmendra Kumar laying claims for the top post.
“Patnaik’s clean image and years of service left before his superannuation tilted the scale in his favour. Kumar and Mishra Kumar will hang their boots in September and November 2018 respectively and both of them have less than two years of service left,” a top source said.
Two other senior officers of the cadre, 1982-batch JK Sharma and AK Singh of 1984-batch were not considered as they are yet to be empanelled for the post of Director General owing to departmental proceedings.
Mishra and Kumar are currently posted with Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) respectively as Additional Director Generals. Mishra had held many important posts during his postings with the Delhi Police. His last assignment was Special Commissioner of Police (law and Order). Kumar too had served as Special CP, law and Order. Both the officers were made Senior Special CPs during BS Bassi’s stewardship of the Delhi Police but the posts were later scrapped after senior IPS officer lodged protest.
Patnaik is a recipient of the President’s Police medal for distinguished service and the Police medal for meritorious service. He also got the prestigious G-Files Excellent Contribution Award in 2015 for his outstanding track record of honesty, integrity and dedication to work.
Patnaik had held several key postings with the Delhi Police during his 32-year-long career. He had served as DCPs of East and South districts. During his stint as the DCP East, Patnaik launched Pratidhi (it means hope in Odhia) in collaboration with Association for Development (AFD) to cater to the crime victims. Pratidhi provides counselling and other assistance to victims of traumatic crimes.
Patnaik earned laurels during his stint as IG of the elite Special Protection Group (SPG) for planning and managing the security of the lone train journey ever undertaken by a Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2003.
As Special CP (Administration), he was part of the team which brought about the recently given large-scale promotions in the Delhi Police. He has also served as SSP, law & Order, Puducherry, and DGP in the sensitive North-Eastern State of Mizoram.
Patnaik is also credited for his innovative planning and police-community partnerships. He started Anti-Obscene Calls Cell and Anti-Stalking Cell to prevent crimes against women. The helplines function round-the-clock and have been instrumental in helping women in distress.