JAMMU — Deferred thrice this month, the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) for Police Department met here this evening and cleared promotions of 11 senior IPS officers up to IGP level while proposal for promotion of two Additional DGPs as DGPs is being sent to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and that of four IGPs as ADGPs was deferred because of lack of vacancies.
Top official sources told the Excelsior that members of the Committee, which had been constituted by the MHA, Department of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh Affairs, include Umang Narula, Advisor to Lt Governor of Ladakh, Shaleen Kabra, outgoing Principal Secretary Home Department J&K, Secretary Home Department Ladakh, Director General of Police (DGP) J&K Dilbag Singh and Additional Director General of Police (Head of the Police Force), Ladakh S S Khandarey. The DPC was chaired by Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta.
The DPC met this evening after being deferred thrice on February 8, 11 and 21.
Sources said the proposal for promotion of two Additional DGPs including Hemant Kumar Lohia and Pankaj Saxena as DGPs is being sent to the MHA Both of them are IPS officers of 1992 batch of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir cadre.
Four Inspector Generals of Police, whose promotion to the rank of Additional DGP was deferred for want of vacancies include Viplav Kumar Choudhary, presently on deputation with the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Garib Dass, IGP Headquarters, Vijay Kumar, IGP Kashmir Zone and Alok Kumar, IGP Crime Investigation Vigilance (CIV) Police Headquarters.
All of them are Direct Recruits of 1997 batch of the IPS.
Five DIGs have been cleared for promotion as IGPs. Four of them, however, are on Central deputation.
They are Uttam Chand, who is on deputation with the Government of India where he is posted as Deputy Secretary Cabinet Secretariat, Vidhi Kumar Birdi, who is on deputation to the NIA, Keshav Ram, who too is on deputation and posted in the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI), Atul Kumar Goel, DlG CID and State Investigation Agency (SIA) Jammu and Bhim Sen Tuti, who is on Study Leave to United Kingdom.
Uttam Chand is Regular Recruit of 2002 batch, Birdi and Keshav Ram are Direct Recruits of 2003 batch while Goel and Tuti, also Direct Recruits, belonged to 2004 batch of IPS cadre.
Three IPS officers of 2008 batch were confirmed as DIGs. They are already officiating in the same rank in view of shortage of police officers.
They include Tejinder Singh, who is on deputation with the NlA, Abdul Jabbar, DIG South Kashmir Range Anantnag and Udaybhaskar Billa, DIG North Kashmir Range Baramulla.
Selection Grade of IPS was released in favour of three IPS officers of 2009 batch on completion of 13 years of qualifying service. They are now eligible for posting as DIGs.
They include lmtiaz Ismail Parray, SSP Crime Branch Kashmir, Shailendra Rajesh Mishra and Rahul Malik, both of whom are on Central deputation and posted in the NIA and MHA respectively.
Sources said there are four sanctioned posts of DGPs (two cadre and two ex-cadre) but against them, six officers are already in position though two are on Central deputation. However, on promotion of two Additional DGPs as DGPs, the MHA will take call shortly.
As far as the promotion of four IGPs as Additional DGPs was concerned, sources said there are eight sanctioned posts of ADGPs but against them, 13 officers are working in the same rank though four of them are on deputation. In view of this, the promotion of four more IGPs as ADGPs was deferred.
Regarding the promotion of five DIGs as IGPs , sources pointed out that there are 21 sanctioned posts of IGPs (12 cadre and nine ex-cadre) but only eight officers are in position while four others are on deputation.
Sources said the Police Department had obtained Vigilance clearance in favour of all officers before their promotions. — (Daily Excelsior)