New Delhi: Senior IPS officer Alok Verma of the AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-Union Territories) cadre is set to take over as the new chief of Delhi Police, PTI reported today.
Verma, who currently serves as the Director General of Tihar Jail, is known to have a clean image and hails from Delhi. He was the senior most officer in contention for the top post in Delhi police.
Besides him, the other name in contention was of 1984 batch IPS officer Dharmendra Kumar. Verma will take charge of the Commissioner's post on March 1.
The appointment of Verma, a 1979-batch officer, puts to rest speculation of an officer being brought from outside to hold the reins of the 77,000-strong Delhi Police.
The job for Verma will not be easy – partly due to Delhi's ambiguous status and also on account of the Delhi government being at constant loggerheads with the Centre over exercising control over the force. The new Commissioner's role will be tedious as he may be caught between two power centres.
With a budget of Rs 5,372.88 crore, the Commissioner of Police has to ensure protection for VIPs and keep the crime rate down. Delhi's rising crime graph does not make it any easier for the Delhi police chief.
Crime rate in the national capital has almost doubled with registration of 1,55,654 cases in 2014. In 2015, police have registered 1,13,969 cases so far.
(With PTI inputs)
