THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Arun Kumar Sinha, the director of the Special Protection Group (SPG) responsible for the security of the Prime Minister, passed away while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Gurgaon on Wednesday. The 61-year-old, who was given a one-year extension as SPG director, has been battling cancer for sometime.
Belonging to the 1987 IPS batch, Sinha hailed from Hazaribagh in Jharkhand. He was assigned the task of helming the SPG in 2016 when he was working as ADGP in the state police headquarters. At that time the director post of SPG was lying vacant for more than a year. Sinha’s appointment brought a much-needed stability in the top echelons of the SPG, which saw three police officers being appointed to head the elite wing since IPS officer Durga Prasad was moved out as its head in 2014.
While working in Kerala, Sinha had handled key portfolios such as Thiruvananthapuram City Commissioner, Thiruvananthapuram Range IG, Intelligence DIG and Headquarters IG.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condoled the death of the senior-most IPS officer of the state cadre and said Sinha had carried out all the responsibilities assigned to him in a diligent manner.
Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan said Sinha handled key responsibilities efficiently and took exemplary measures in maintaining law and order.
Sinha was known to be a perfect team leader who did not hesitate to overlook police hierarchy and led from the front.
A serving senior IPS officer said Sinha exhibited true leadership qualities and cared about each member of his team.
“For him, the team came first. He did not let himself confine to the hierarchical order of the force and reached out to even the junior-most officers,” the officer reminisced.
“He had a big role in the modernisation of the force. Being tech-savvy, he welcomed ideas on technology and modernisation. It was during his reign that blinker lights and pedestrian lights were introduced in traffic signals. He also spearheaded installing wayside CCTV cameras, which was done for the first time in the state,” said Intelligence ADGP Manoj Abraham.
State police chief Shaik Darvesh Saheb in a statement said Sinha’s death was a big loss to the Indian Police Service and Kerala Police.
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