THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As DGP Sudesh Kumar is set to retire as the prison's director this month end, the police top brass and the government are yet undecided on their next pick, while a consensus seems to be emerging to wait till December as three more officers of the rank of IG will get automatic promotion as ADGP by then.
The idea, which is still in the discussion stage, is to give an additional charge or temporary posting of the prisons director to one of the ADGPs for the time being and then appoint a regular one once three more officers graduate as ADGPs.
North Kerala Zone IG T Vikram, Crime Branch Kochi IG Gopesh Agrawal and Vigilance IG H Venkatesh are the ones who are expected to get promoted as ADGPs by December. Sudesh, the third senior-most IPS officer in the state and a member of the 1987 batch, is set to hang up his boots on October 31. The department has been facing a shortage of senior IPS officers.
Currently, there are 15 ADGPs and five DGP grade officers in the department of whom six ADGPs and a DGP grade officer are on central deputation. Two other ADGPs --Sanjeeb Kumar Patjoshi and Yogesh Gupta -- are on state deputation. The promotion of another senior IG, G Lakshman, as ADGP has been put on hold as he is still under suspension in connection with the Monson Mavunkal issue.
Sources said appointing ADGPs has been a tough call owing to the manpower deficit and that’s why discussion is going on delaying the appointment of Sudesh’s replacement. There have also been talks of bringing ADGPs Sanjeeb Kumar Patjoshi, chairman of Civil Supplies Corporation, and Yogesh Gupta, MD of Bevco, back to the mainstream. But, in case of their transfer back to the parent wing, they have to be replaced with two other officers, which again will bring to the fore paucity of senior IPS officers in the ranks of the department.