After nearly a month of confusion, uncertainty, and deadlock over the appointment process, Haryana has finally got its new chief of state police. It proves right what the Legendofficers had reported: that the state is poised to get its new DGP by the dawn of the New Year. The appointment of Ajay Singhal (IPS:1992:HY) as a regular DGP of the state thus puts an end to a long-drawn controversy over the appointment of a regular DGP.
The ball of controversy was set into motion by the tragic incident of suicide by senior IPS officer Y. Puran Kumar (IPS:2001:HY) in early October and the name of then DGP Shatrujeet Kapoor (IPS:1990:HY) figuring as an accused in Kumar’s suicide note.
The massive public outrage forced the government to send Kapoor on a long leave on Oct 14 and hand over the charge to IPS officer O P Singh (IPS:1992:HY). As Singh was scheduled to retire on Dec 31, the Haryana government sent a panel of five of the most senior IPS officers to the Union Public Service Commission for shortlisting three names for the appointment of a regular DGP.
But the UPSC returned the panel sent by the state govt on the ground that no vacancy for DGP’s post existed in Haryana, as Kapoor was only on leave and could rejoin duty as DGP after returning from the leave. The commission asked the govt to send the panel afresh after ensuring that Kapoor would not be retained as a DGP.
Following it, the Haryana govt divested Kapoor of charge of the DGP on Dec 14 after returning from leave and sent a panel of five IPS officers to the UPSC on Dec 16 for shortlisting three officers for the appointment of a new chief of the state police.
The state government’s proposal sent to the UPSC on December 16 contained the records of five IPS officers—Shatrujeet Kapoor (1990 batch), SK Jain (1991 batch), Ajay Singhal (1992 batch), Alok Mittal, and Arshinder Chawla (both of the 1993 batch).
The inclusion of Kapoor’s name in the fresh govt’s panel prompted the UPSC to ask for a status report of the FIR that had been filed with the Chandigarh Police following Puran Kumar’s suicide.
Besides Kapur’s case, the UPSC also sought the entire service record of the 1991 batch IPS officer, SK Jain. As per our report, Jain was unlikely to find a place in the panel of three IPS officers because he failed to meet the “range of experience criteria required for heading the police force.”
Then the final call came on Dec 31 when the Haryana government finally appointed senior IPS officer Ajay Singhal (IPS:1992:HY) as the new DGP.
The appointment followed the empanelment committee meeting held by the UPSC on the last day of the preceding year. After its meeting on Dec 31, the UPSC forwarded a panel of three senior IPS officers—Shatrujeet Singh Kapoor, Ajay Singhal, and Alok Mittal (IPS:1993:HY)—for appointment as DGP. Out of these three, Ajay Singhal was named as the next chief of the state police through an order issued on Dec 31 by the Haryana govt.
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