The Chandrababu Naidu government in Andhra Pradesh has also started the process of selecting a new police chief of the state as the current DGP, Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao (IPS:1989:AP), is retiring in January. He is unlikely to get an extension, as per reports. Rao was appointed as head of the state police force on June 20, after the TDP-led NDA government took charge.
If seniority is considered as the only criterion, there are 10 DG-rank officers eligible for the post with Madireddy Pratap (IPS:1991:AP) and Harish Kumar Gupta (IPS:1992:AP) leading the contender list for the coveted position.
Two senior IPS officers, who seem to be out of the race, are former Intelligence Chief PSR Anjaneyulu (IPS:1992:AP) and former DGP Kasireddy Rajendranath Reddy (IPS:1992:AP). While Anjaneyulu was placed under suspension, Reddy was punished by the Election Commission of India in May due to security lapses during a public meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Chilakapluripet.
Another potential contender, Anjani Kumar (IPS:1990:AP), who served as the Telangana DGP, is yet to report to the Andhra Pradesh government. Similarly, three other possible contenders – Nalin Prabhat (IPS:1992:AP), Dr Mahesh Dixit (IPS:1993:AP), and Amit Garg (IPS:1993:AP) – are currently on central deputation as the DGP of Jammu and Kashmir, Special Director of Intelligence and Director of SVPNPA, Hyderabad, respectively, and are unlikely to be recalled.
Under this circumstance, Harish Kumar Gupta, currently serving as the Vigilance and Enforcement DG, is the most likely candidate to be appointed the next DGP. The fact that he was appointed as DGP by the Election Commission during the elections, the State government may also go for him.
Further, hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, Gupta is also reported to have good rapport with several BJP leaders at the Centre.
According to sources, there is hardly any scope for extending Tirumala Rao’s tenure, so the state government has little option but to choose Harish Kumar Gupta in his place.
If Gupta is appointed as the next DGP, there is a possibility that his tenure could be extended by two more years as he would have only seven months of service before reaching superannuation.
