E-Paper
Punjab special DGP Harpreet Sidhu’s central deputation cut short by year
1992-batch IPS officer Sidhu opted for his parent cadre, Punjab, after the Centre appointed Praveen Kumar from the 1993 batch as ITBP director general.
The ministry of home affairs (MHA) has approved the premature repatriation of 1992-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Harpreet Singh Sidhu to his parent cadre, Punjab.
The orders issued on September 22 said Sidhu, who was serving as additional director general (ADG) in the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), has been repatriated with immediate effect.
The move comes on his request under provisions of the IPS tenure policy.
Sidhu, who has been promoted as special DGP in Punjab, is learnt to have opted for his parent cadre after the Centre appointed Praveen Kumar from the 1993 batch as ITBP director general. Kumar was earlier special director, Intelligence Bureau.
Sidhu had gone on central deputation for four years and was to return to Punjab in October 2026.
The communication about the repatriation signed by Sanjeev Kumar, the under secretary to the Government of India, directed the ITBP to relieve Sidhu and inform the ministry about the date of his release.
Sidhu had been handpicked by Captain Amarinder Singh soon after he took over as Punjab chief minister in 2017 to lead the then newly constituted special task force (STF) against drugs. Capt Amarinder had to make a special request to the Union home minister to bring him back from deputation in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
Later, he was appointed special principal secretary to the chief minister. During that tenure, he remained at loggerheads with the then Punjab director general of police, Suresh Arora.
Sidhu was serving as ADGP, prisons, when the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party government came to power in March 2022. Soon after the AAP government appointed his batchmate, Gaurav Yadav, as acting DGP of Punjab, Sidhu decided to opt for a central posting.
Though from the 1992 batch, Yadav is junior to Sidhu in the seniority list.
Sidhu is set to retire on February 10, 2028.
