Chandigarh, February 1: Punjab may get a new Director General of Police (DGP) in February as the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has called a meeting on February 4 to discuss and finalise the three-member panel to be sent back to the Punjab Government for the final selection.
The government had sent a panel of all officers, including nine DGPs and several ADGPs, who had completed 20 years of service. Sources said the UPSC would discuss the seniority and merit of candidates.
DGP (Special Task Force) Mohd Mustafa and DGP (Intelligence) Dinkar Gupta are the front-runners for the post.
The incumbent, DGP Suresh Arora, is on a one-year extension till September 30, but he doesn’t want to continue, thus necessitating the need to choose a new DGP.
Mohd Mustafa, a 1985-batch IPS officer, is second in seniority to 1984-batch officer Samant Goel, who is on Central deputation. So far, there is no indication that the state government may choose Goel for the post, while Mustafa is known for his proximity to Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.
DGP (Intelligence) Dinkar Gupta is a 1987-batch IPS officer, who is a strong contender as he has busted several terror modules and solved target killings.
