New Delhi: Former CBI special director Rakesh Asthana has been appointed as the new Delhi Police Commissioner. This information was shared by the Ministry of Home Affairs through an official statement on Tuesday evening.
Asthana will join as the Delhi Police Commissioner with immediate effect, as per the order of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
Asthana will replace Balaji Srivastava, who was given the additional charge of Delhi Police Commissioner in June this year.
The top police officer of New Delhi is a 1984 batch IPS officer of Gujarat cadre who is currently serving as Director General of Border Security Forces (BSF).
Meanwhile, after Rakesh Asthana was appointed as the Delhi Police Commissioner, SS Seswal, Director General ITBP has been given additional charge of the post of Director General of Border Security Force.
As per reports, Asthana’s appointment came days before he retired on July 31. He will serve as the Delhi Police Commissioner for a tenure of one year.
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This is one of the very few instances when an IPS officer outside the AGMUT cadre has been appointed as the Delhi Police chief. Asthana’s appointment to the top post is said to have upset Delhi Police officials as he is considered an outsider.
Usually, the post of Delhi Commissioner is given to someone belonging to the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre.
Prior to this, Asthana had served as the Special Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). During his tenure in the CBI, he was involved in an absurd dispute with the then CBI Director Alok Verma.
(with inputs from PTI)
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