The Hindu : New Delhi News : Race for Delhi’s Cop No. 1 enters last lap

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Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007
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Race for Delhi’s Cop No. 1 enters last lap

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: With Delhi’s Police Commissioner K. K. Paul seemingly set to join the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the race for the top post in the Capital’s police force has entered the decisive lap.

Well-placed sources in the Union Home Ministry indicated on Tuesday that the choice now is between two IPS officers of Union Territory cadre – Kiran Bedi, the country’s first woman IPS officer of the 1972 batch, and Yudhbir Singh Dadwal, who belongs to the 1974 batch. Preliminary rounds of meetings and assessments of both the officers have been held in the Home Ministry and a decision is likely “soon”, probably within a week, sources said.

The name of Jammu and Kashmir Police Director-General Gopal Sharma, also a 1972 batch IPS officer, was also doing the rounds here initially for heading the Delhi Police. Mr. Sharma has been the J & K police chief for the past four years, an uncommon feature in the border State. Sources said that he could be brought over to head a Central police organisation or taken on Central deputation.

While Ms. Bedi is currently heading the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), has recently completed a U.N. deputation spell and headed Delhi’s high-security Tihar Central Jail, Mr. Dadwal is a Special Commissioner with the Delhi Police and has remained in active policing in the city, having headed the security, operations and intelligence wings.

The last time an officer from outside the Union Territory cadre was chosen to head the Delhi Police was in 1999 when Ajai Raj Sharma of the U.P. cadre was picked up from the Border Security Force.

He remained the Police Commissioner for three years, before being appointed Director-General of BSF.

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