Rakesh Asthana, senior IPS officer, took charge as Delhi Police Commissioner
Rakesh Asthana, a senior IPS officer formerly of the Gujarat cadre and now on deputation to the AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory) cadre, per a notice from the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, took charge as the Commissioner of Delhi Police today.
He was accorded a ceremonial guard of honour upon his arrival at Delhi Police HQ.
"I took charge as Delhi Police commissioner today. I believe in the basic concepts of policing - that is, maintenance of law and order, and prevention of crime... that is the basic thing which we are supposed to do. If these are done properly, peace prevails in society. There are certain specialised problems, for which there are separate SOPs. We will work accordingly," he told reporters.
Mr Asthana also praised the national capital's police for its past performances, and said he hopes to work in tandem with everyone to ensure the betterment of society.
"Delhi Police has a brilliant past. Lot of good work has been done by the force in the past. Lot of complicated cases have been solved. Lot of complicated situations have been handled... I believe in teamwork and I hope, with this teamwork, we will be able to put the best foot forward for the betterment of society and prevalence of peace," he underlined.
In an order issued Tuesday, the Ministry of Home Affairs said Mr Asthana, who was serving as the Director General of the Border Security Force, would join as Commissioner with immediate effect.
His appointment came just days before his superannuation (retirement) on July 31. He was given an extension "in public interest" and will have a tenure of one year.
This is one of the very few instances when an IPS officer outside of the AGMUT cadre has been appointed as the Delhi Police chief.
A 1984-batch IPS officer, Rakesh Asthana was earlier a CBI Special Director, and during his stint he was engaged in an unsavoury spat with then director, Alok Verma, with both levelling allegations of corruption against each other.
Senior IPS officer Balaji Srivastav had been given additional charge of Commissioner of Police (CP) Delhi, after the retirement of SN Shrivastava in June-end.