Chandigarh: The Punjab Government on Friday (October 9, 2026) appointed 1992-batch IPS officer Gaurav Yadav (IPS:1992:PB) as Director General of Police (Head of Police Force), Punjab, with a minimum tenure of two years.
The appointment order was issued in the name of the Governor by the Department of Home Affairs, Punjab, under its Home-I Branch.
Yadav was selected from a panel of three IPS officers empanelled by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for the post. The other two officers on the panel were Dr Sharad Satya Chauhan (IPS:1992:PB) and Harpreet Singh Sidhu (IPS:1992:PB). The UPSC forwarded the panel to the Punjab Government on July 1, 2026, after assessing the names proposed by the state government.
The order refers to the Supreme Court’s directions dated September 22, 2006, and July 3, 2018, in the Prakash Singh and Others vs Union of India and Others case concerning police reforms and the appointment and tenure of state police chiefs.
Yadav has been functioning as the head of the Punjab Police on an additional-charge basis since July 2022, when the then DGP, Viresh Kumar Bhawra (IPS:1987:PB), proceeded on leave. At the time, Yadav was serving as Special DGP, Administration, Punjab. His appointment as regular DGP ends the prolonged arrangement under which he had been holding the charge of the state police chief without a regular appointment.
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