NEW DELHI:An internecine war has begun in Delhi Police. Even though the top post in the 77,000-strong force will fall vacant six months from now, backroom manoeuvring on who will become the next Commissioner of Police has started.
The force is keenly clued in, some even taking sides, as there are five eligible candidates for the hot seat. But the bitter fight is between two senior-most IPS officers: Alok Kumar Verma (1979 batch) and Dharmendra Kumar (1984 batch). However, Kumar’s batchmate, Deepak Mishra, cannot be ignored.
Sources claim that incumbent Bhim Sain Bassi (a 1977-batch officer) has started lobbying hard for a post-retirement job after he retires in February 2016.
The prospect of Bassi demitting his office after retirement to join central deputation has led to a bitter war for the post of Commissioner of Police among officers who are next in line. The appointment of a new commissioner should not disturb the force, but junior officers are hedging their bets as changes will follow after it.
Sources point to last week’s massive reshuffle of 35 IPS and DANIPS (Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Police Service) officers, saying it is linked to the change of guard six months from now. “These were strategic transfers. Some more may follow at the top level,” a senior officer told The Sunday Standard. He said that the longer the speculation, the greater will be the demoralising impact on the force.
The Commissioner of Police post has become important as there is an Aam Aadmi Party government in the national capital. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had not minced words while speaking about the men in khaki. The Centre would want an officer who can withstand his antics to browbeat the police.
MEN IN WAITING
Anyone who joins the AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory) cadre dreams of becoming Delhi’s Commissioner of Police. Among key contenders are Alok Kumar Verma, currently posted as Director General of Tihar Jail. He is the “natural successor” after 1978-batch officer Vimla Mehra, the senior-most officer in Delhi Police after Bassi. She will retire on the same day as Bassi, thus clearing the succession line.
Verma’s immediate junior J K Sharma (1982-batch and posted as Director General Home Guards) can also stake a claim to the top post. But the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had investigated him in a corruption case long ago, which virtually shuts the doors for Sharma.
Then there are officers much junior to Verma who also consider themselves as serious contenders for the top job. Kumar and Mishra, both batchmates and good friends and Senior Special Commissioners of Police, are eyeing the top slot.
Two other 1984-batch officers Ajay Kumar Singh (currently Special Commissioner of Police General Administration) and Karnal Singh, who holds the top post in the Enforcement Directorate (ED), can’t be ignored. They can stake their claim for the top seat anytime.
Ajay Kumar Singh was recently promoted to the rank of Director General of Police, as there was a case pending against him for being absent from services. He won the case this year. Karnal Singh has decided not to come back to the parent cadre as he is heading the ED and will retire a just month after Verma.
THE GLADIATORS
Sources say Verma is not leaving any stone unturned to become chief of Delhi Police and has been seen running around ministers. His rivals in the force are in no mood to leave the field open for him. Stories abound about how Tihar Jail has been mismanaged under him, especially in the wake of BBC making a documentary on the convicts of the December 16 gang-rape case.
When he was summoned by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to explain the BBC interview, he blamed his predecessor Mehra for giving her nod for it. Mehra was removed as Director General Tihar Jail last year after the MHA issued an inquiry against her for allowing an inmate to sculpt a statue of her.
This leaves the field open for Kumar. He was transferred out of Delhi Police to Mizoram as Director General, but returned within 13 months after Bassi made at least eight requests to the MHA for his transfer back to Delhi. The chemistry between Kumar and Bassi dates back to their days at North District when Bassi was the Deputy Commissioner of Police and Kumar his deputy.
However, Kumar may not be the obvious choice of the NDA government because when he was Special Commissioner of Police, Law and Order, in 2011, he had ordered a midnight crackdown on hundreds of followers of yoga guru Baba Ramdev, during which one of them died.
“If Verma takes charge as Commissioner of Police in February 2016, he will retire after serving 17 months as police chief. This will leave just 11 months for Kumar,” an insider said. Interestingly, Bassi is learnt to be lobbying for Kumar.
Mishra, considered to be hard task master, is currently Senior Special Commissioner of Police, Law and Order. His claim for the top job was ‘spoiled’ three years ago when his rivals put the onus of delayed police response in the December 16 gang-rape incident on him. Mishra—along with then Joint Commissioner of Police Traffic Satyendra Kumar Garg and Additional Commissioner of Police G C Dwivedi—were served show cause notice.
However, Kumar, who was the Special Commissioner of Police, Law and Order then, did not face the heat for the botch up in the gang-rape incident.
Some claim the action against Mishra was to scuttle his chance as Commissioner of Police. However, Mishra was cleared in the MHA probe and was promoted as DGP in the cadre. He is also a strong contender for the post.
In the recent police crackdown on war veterans protesting for “One Rank One Pension” at Jantar Mantar, Mishra was reportedly upbraided by Bassi for not informing him and taking a unilateral decision to evict the veterans by force before Independence Day.
THE OPTIONS
The grapevine in police circles also hints that the government may bring in someone from another state. In 1999, the NDA government had picked Ajai Raj Sharma of the Uttar Pradesh cadre as commissioner.
While the game is on, officers junior to Verma and Kumar are divided. The five 1985-batch officers, four 1986-batch officers, three 1987-batch officers and five 1988-batch officers are lobbying for their favourites.