PATNA: ADG (HQ) D N Gautam was on Thursday elevated and made the new director general of police (DGP) of Bihar. He assumed office of the top cop after the present incumbent Shiv Chandra Jha's superannuation. Incidentally, TOI was the first to report on Wednesday that Gautam was all set to head the state police. The government has also given the additional charge of ADG (HQ) to ADG (law and order) Anil Kumar Sinha. An MSc in Mathematics from Allahabad University, Gautam is a 1974 batch IPS official. He got his training in Gaya as ASP. Later, he became ASP Jhanjharpur in Madhubani district. Thereafter, he held different assignments, including those of SP (Saran, Rohtas and Munger), IG (training), ADG (technical services), ADG (special branch) and ADG (HQ) before becoming the DGP. From 1982 to 1985, Gautam was on central deputation and served as SP (Intelligence Bureau). During his second stint with the Centre, he served ITBP as DIG and IG (CRPF). He returned to his parent cadre in 2002. Gautam's tenure will be of exactly one year. However, with his elevation, police officers in the headquarters said the government had ignored the claims of three senior senior officers - A R Sinha (1972), a former DGP, Anand Shankar and Manoje Nath (both 1973 batch). Gautam's two batchmates, Ranjit Sinha and J K Khanna, are also senior to him but they are on central deputation. According to reliable sources, Khanna had sent a fax to the home department that he would be joining his parent cadre on September 3 this year. Now a piquant situation would emerge in the police hierarchy with the arrival of Khanna as only four DG-rank officers can be posted in the state. The slot is full with Gautam becoming the DGP. Everyone in the police headquarters is curious to know what would be the fate of Khanna on his return. After taking over his new role, Gautam thanked chief minister Nitish Kumar for making him the DGP. He said all police officers should feel privileged that they are carrying out the task of safety and security of the common man. As regards the task he has set for himself as the DGP, Gautam said, "I will ensure that police personnel at the thana level behave properly with the people. The police headquarters would take it seriously if they don't mend their ways." Though outgoing DGP Jha had a brief tenure of only four months, he earned accolades from all officers. He asked senior police officers to co-operate with Gautam. It was after a long gap that an outgoing DGP was given farewell by IAS officers as well at the conference hall of the secretariat. Speaking on the occasion, principal home secretary Afzal Amanullah lauded the role played by Jha during his tenure and wished him good health in life. Later IPS officers, as a custom, pushed Jha's car upto the secretariat's main gate.
1 comments:
So D.N.Gautam becomes the DG of Bihar. Good news for Biharis. I seem to agree with the general perception that he is an honest man. But beyond that my agreement breaks down.
Firstly every police officer who joins as an IPS entrant ends-up as a DG. This happens not because of individual’s merit but because of system’s default. But that very system will not allow any change in the pattern of policing. The criminal-politician-police nexus runs the default machine. D.N.Gautam is just an individual who is not even known to be articulate to be able to carry out the much discussed reforms in the police. By his honesty he can earn a space for himself, that’s all, like Joginger Singh of CBI.
I do believe that Shri D.N.Gautam will try to fight out the rot but it will be limited to taking some action against some bad-head darogas who are not strongly protected by one politician or the other. This will be his target group and to that extent he may succeed. The media will rejoice by doing a tail-dance on the euphoria of success.
But if he wants to bring major changes in the police-crime scenario then I give him an advice according to the law of the land. A police officer is duty bound to prevent the commission of crimes (S.149 and S.150 of Cr.P.C). Let him open a yahooblogspot of Bihar police where people can file information (Don’t mix it with FIR to confuse the issue) giving full details of the criminal offence, and let the SPs of the District take cognizance of the information U/S 154(3) of Cr.P.C and pass on to a police officer for setting in motion a criminal investigation. It will not cost him anything and he will not have to depend on sarkari network which very often does not work. If he agrees, some of us from this forum can do the spadework for him as representatives of the complainants with regard to obtaining all the necessary missing details of the complaint, so that official time is not wasted. Can he take up this challenge to justify the trust reposed in him?
The other area in which Shri Gautam is likely to be stymied with an impossible situation is the recruitment of constables of whom there must be large scale vacancies. He should speak to his counterpart in Kerala or Karnataka and get a team of officers, typists, computer operators, physical instructors (having no link with Bihar) on temporary duty detailed for this job of carrying out the recruitment in Bihar. Needless to say, that it is all the Bihari boys who will get selected, but they will work with honesty, because for a change they would have joined the police force without paying bribe.
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