Haryana Police gets new chief, PK Agrawal succeeds Yadava

1988-batch IPS officer takes charge for two years, while his predecessor heads for Intelligence Bureau

Prashanta Kumar Agrawal is the new Haryana director general of police (DGP). He succeeds Manoj Yadava, who has sought repatriation to the Intelligence Bureau.

Prashanta Kumar Agrawal, a 1988 -batch IPS officer, is the new Haryana Police chief. He will be at the helm for two years.

The Haryana government announced the appointment of the 1988-batch Indian Police Service officer on Sunday. Agrawal will have a two-year tenure.

The empanelment committee of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) had last week shortlisted a panel of three senior-most Haryana IPS officers for selection of the new DGP. Besides Agrawal, two 1989-batch officers, Mohammad Akil and RC Mishra, were shortlisted.

Yadava sought repatriation to IB

The state government had last month set in motion the process to appoint the new police chief after Yadava sought premature repatriation to the IB, citing career consideration and family requirements.

Subsequently, a proposal containing the names of eight IPS officers was sent to the UPSC for shortlisting three senior-most officers. Seven IPS officers who have put in 30 years of service and were eligible for empanelment were in the zone of consideration.

Besides Agrawal, Akil and Mishra, they included 1990-batch officers Shatrujeet Kapoor and Desh Raj Singh and 1991-batch officers Alok Roy and Sanjeev Kumar Jain.

Minimum tenure of two years

According to the directions of the Supreme Court, the state DGP shall be selected by the state government from among the three senior-most officers of the department who have been empanelled for promotion to that rank by the UPSC on the basis of their length of service, good record and range of experience for heading the police force.

“Once selected, the DGP should have a minimum tenure of at least two years irrespective of his date of superannuation,” said the 2006 landmark Prakash Singh judgment of the apex court. The court had in March 2019 clarified that the recommendation for appointment to the post of DGP by the UPSC and preparation of panel should be purely on merit from officers who have at least six months of service prior to the retirement.

Yadava had been the state police chief since February 21, 2019. His two-year tenure had ended but the Union home ministry on March 2 granted him an extension till February 20, 2022, or till further orders, whichever is earlier. Yadava, a 1988-batch IPS officer, is left with four years of service before he attains superannuation.