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Dinkar Gupta appointed NIA chief
Former Punjab top cop Dinkar Gupta was on Thursday appointed as the new director general of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the primary counter-terrorist task force of India
Former Punjab top cop Dinkar Gupta was on Thursday appointed as the new director general of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the primary counter-terrorist task force of India.
CRPF director general Kuldiep Singh was holding the additional charge of the NIA since May last year after the retirement of YC Modi. According to an official order issued by the personnel ministry, the appointments committee of the Union cabinet cleared the name of Gupta, a 1987-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, for the top NIA post.
According to the order, Gupta will hold the post of NIA chief till March 31, 2024, that is the date of his retirement, or till further orders, whichever comes earlier.
Having a master’s degree in police administration, Gupta served as the Punjab director general of police (DGP) from February 2019 to October 2021 and was given a free hand by then chief minister (CM) Captain Amarinder Singh. However, after Charanjit Singh Channi took over as the CM, he was replaced as the DGP and shifted as the chairman of Punjab Police Housing Board.
As the Punjab DGP, Gupta adopted a zero-tolerance approach against gangsters, following which several of them were apprehended or forced to shift base to other states. He also held the post of DGP, intelligence, and is credited with bringing decisive functional changes and carving out an internal security wing.
Gupta’s wife and former chief secretary Vinni Mahajan is also currently serving on central deputation as the secretary in Jal Shakti and department of drinking water and sanitation. The power couple was at the helm of Punjab’s administrative and police setup at one point of time.
An experienced and distinguished officer, Gupta earlier had an eight-year stint on central deputation with the ministry of home affairs (MHA) in the Intelligence Bureaufrom June 2004 to July 2012 during which he held sensitive assignments, including as the head of the Dignitary Protection Divisionlooking after the VVIP security.
During militancy in Punjab, Gupta served as the senior superintendent of police in Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur districts. He also served as the deputy inspector general (DIG) in the Jalandhar Range, Ludhiana Range, intelligence and counter-intelligence in Punjab before going on central deputation in 2004. Many of his senior officers and subordinates identify Gupta as a workaholic officer having a strong knack for assignments related to intelligence and crossborder terrorism.
The IPS officer was decorated with two police gallantry medals in 1992 and 1994. He was also decorated with the Police Medal for Meritorious Services by the President and the Presidents Police Medal for Distinguished Service (2011). In 1999, he was awarded the British Chevening Gurukul Scholarship by the British Council at London School of Economics.
(with agency inputs)
