MHA clears promotion of 4 SSPs as DIGs, 3 others to SG; 7 to get next Grade soon

1992 batch IPS officer being promoted as DGP

Promotions will fill up vacancies, lead to reshuffle

Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Dec 30: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) today cleared promotion of four IPS officers including three from erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir cadre and another posted in the UT, all from AGMUT, as DIGs and three others to Selection Grade making them eligible for posting as Incharge DIGs while seven others are being brought under Selection Grade.
The MHA has also sought details of 1992 batch IPS officer Pankaj Saxena for promotion as Director General of Police (DGP).
Saxena belongs to erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir cadre, now merged with AGMUT and is presently on deputation with the Government of India in the rank of Additional DGP. Whenever approved by the MHA, he will be granted proforma promotion and a vacancy for his posting is not needed at present in J&K as he is on deputation.
He is lone IPS officer of 1992 batch from previous J&K cadre.
Six IPS officers of erstwhile J&K cadre are presently in the rank of DGP, four of whom are posting in the UT while two others are on Central deputation. They include Dilbag Singh, DGP, B Srinivas, Commandant General Home Guards & SDRF, RR Swain, Special DG CID and AK Choudhary, Special DG Crime, all posted in the UT, SM Sahai, on deputation with the Government of India and Lalat Indu Mohanty, Special Commissioner in Delhi Police.
Meanwhile, the MHA today ordered promotion of four SSPs as DIGs including three who were part of J&K cadre and another who is from AGMUT cadre but posted in the UT.
They are Imtiaz Ismail Parray, Commandant Indian Reserve Police (IRP) 8th battalion, Shailendra Mishra, who is on deputation to the NIA and Rahul Malik, who is posted in the MHA. Mishra and Malik will get proforma promotion. They belonged to 2009 batch of previous J&K cadre.
Umesh Kumar, who is posted as Staff Officer to Additional DGP Railways in J&K and is AGMUT cadre IPS officer of 2009 batch, has also been promoted as DIG.
Three direct IPS officers who have been given Selection Grade which will make them eligible for posting as Incharge DIGs are Rayees Mohammad Bhat, SSP Baramulla, Pandey Rajiv Om Prakash, who is on deputation with the NIA and Sridhar Patil, AIG Technical Headquarters. All of them are 2010 batch IPS officers of previous J&K cadre.
Simultaneously, as per the sources, seven State Police Services (SPS) officers, who have been inducted into IPS, will also get Selection Grade and will be eligible for posting as Incharge DIGs.
They include Dr Ajeet Singh, SSP CID Cell New Delhi, Altaf Ahmed Khan, SSP CID CI Kashmir, Haseeb-ur-Rehman, Commandant SDRF Ist battalion, Vikas Gupta, Officer-on-Special Duty (OSD) to Prisons Department, Abdul Qayoom, Commandant Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police (JKAP), Nisha Nathyal, Commandant SDRF 2nd battalion and Javid Iqbal Matoo, AIG Building Police Headquarters.
Presently, there are around 20 vacancies of DIGs in Jammu and Kashmir. Four IPS officers in the rank of DIG are on Central deputation including Uday Bhaskar Billa, Amit Kumar, Tejinder Singh and Abdul Jabbar.
There is only one DIG posted in entire Kashmir. Charge of DIG South and North Kashmir is being looked after. Sujit Kumar has been posted as DIG Central. The post of DIG Jammu-Samba-Kathua range is also vacant though its additional charge has been assigned to DIG Traffic Jammu Vivek Gupta.
Five IPS officers of 2009 batch, who were inducted from JKPS, have already been promoted as DIGs. They are Shakti Kumar Pathak, Director SSF, Dr Mohammad Haseeb Mughal, DIG Rajouri-Poonch, Javid Ahmed Koul, DIG Traffic Kashmir, Sheikh Junaid Mehmood, on deputation to Ladakh and Shahid Mehraj Rather, DIG Armed Kashmir.
Generally, the IPS officers become eligible for promotion as DIGs after 14 years of services. However, in view of shortage of officers in this rank in J&K, the 2009 batch has been promoted after 13 years of services.
Several posts of DIGs including Security, Crime Branch, CID, IRP, Armed etc are vacant.
Sources said with promotions, a major reshuffle in Police Department will become imminent as the Government will have to fill posts of SSPs and adjust new DIGs.
“This will lead to major reshuffle in the Police department,” sources said, adding the shakeup is expected very soon.