BENGALURU: On Friday, the government kept the police brass on tenterhooks till after office hours. Through the day, there was a lot of anxiety over who would be the next Director General & Inspector General of Police, with speculation flying high between DGP, Internal Security Division (ISD) AM Prasad and DGP, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Praveen Sood.
Sources said the CM signed the file on the appointment of Praveen Sood as new DG&IGP after he returned from New Delhi, but it was kept confidential by the CMO till past 5.30 pm, the official closing hour.
Besides the DG&IGP, three Additional Director Generals -- Alok Mohan, NS Megharikh and RP Sharma -- were to be promoted and posted in vacancies that arose following the superannuation of DG&IGP Neelamani N Raju, MN Reddi and R Auradkar on January 31.
A retiring officer cannot conduct official work after 5.30pm, including handing over charge to his or her successor. “All IPS officers were waiting in their offices with their ceremonial uniforms. There were frantic phone calls to each other and media on the classified information. No one knew what was happening and who would be the new police chief till almost 6pm, when Sood’s appointment order was issued,” some senior police officers said.
The DG Control Room relayed the name of the new police chief to police officers and media. The handing of baton by outgoing DG&IGP to her successor happened after 6.30pm. Minutes later, the government order on the promotion and appointment of Mohan, Megharikh and Sharma was issued.
"What happened today was unnecessary and avoidable. Government orders on postings are issued after office hours to avoid the affected officers from getting a stay from the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). The delay in issuing the GO on new DG&IGP’s appointment may have been issued to prevent Prasad, the senior-most IPS officer in the state, from getting a stay on Sood’s appointment," said an officer.
KNOW YOUR DG & IGP
Hailing from Himachal Pradesh, Praveen Sood is an IIT Delhi alumnus. Starting his career at the age of 22 as Assistant SP of Nanjangud, Mysuru, Sood has also served as SP of Ballari, Raichur, Railways, advisor to the government of Mauritius/Commissioner of Police (Foreign deputation), and police commissioner of Bengaluru and Mysuru cities. As DGP, he headed the Internal Security Division and CID.