New chief of Delhi police

Who will be the new Police Commissioner of Delhi as the present incumbent, Bhim Sain Bassi, a 1977-batch officer, is retiring in February 2016? There are five strong contenders for the prestigious post but the IPS officers—1979-batch Alok Verma, Director General of Tihar Jail, and the 1984-batch Dharmendra Kumar—have emerged as the frontrunners to control the 77,000-strong police force with a budget of Rs. 5,372 crore. The dynamic Deepak Mishra, a batchmate of Dharmendra, is also in the race and, considering his clout, he can’t be ignored. Though Vimla Mehra is the seniormost, she is retiring on the same day as Bassi. A 1982-batch IPS officer, JK Sharma, is also on the seniority list but his chances have been reduced due to a CBI inquiry against him. Two other 1984-batch officers, Ajay Kumar Singh, Special Commissioner of Police, General Administration, and Karnail Singh, heading the Enforcement Directorate (ED), are also competent for the top post. It’s to be seen whether Karnail will be eager to join Delhi Police, leaving the ED. Sources have disclosed that Bassi favours Dharmendra as they are on good terms since the days when Bassi served as Deputy Police Commissioner and Dharmendra was his Deputy in the North District. Finally, who will get to the top, reasoned a former CP of Delhi, depends on what the IB briefs the PMO and HM and what are the targets of the government in the given political scenario of Delhi.