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Rakesh Asthana takes charge as police commissioner of Delhi
The 1984-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from the Gujarat cadre served as the director general of the Border Security Force prior to his appointment as the police chief, and was the commissioner of Vadodara police when Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat.
Rakesh Asthana, who was appointed as the commissioner of Delhi Police on Tuesday, assumed office on Wednesday as he arrived amid a ceremonial guard of honour at the police force’s headquarters in the national capital.
Prior to Asthana’s appointment, senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Balaji Srivastav was given the additional charge of Delhi Police chief following SN Shrivastava’s retirement in June.
‘I believe in basic concepts of policing — maintenance of law and order and prevention of crime. If these things are done properly, peace would prevail in society. There are certain specialised problems for which there are separate SOPs. We will work accordingly,” Asthana said while addressing reporters.
Highlighting the Delhi Police’s ‘brilliant past’, the new commissioner also said that the force has solved complicated cases and is adept at handling complicated situations.
A 1984-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from the Gujarat cadre, Asthana was serving as the director general of the Border Security Force (BSF).
And this is not his first stint as a police commissioner. He was Vadodra city’s police commissioner when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat.
He also served as the special director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and was given the responsibility of investigating the fodder scam in Bihar that led to the incarceration of Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad. He also headed the special investigation team of the CBI to probe fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya.
Rakesh Asthana, during his CBI tenure, was embroiled in a spat with the then director of the central probe agency, Alok Verma, with both of them levelling allegations of corruption against each other. Both were moved out of the CBI in 2019.
He has also held top posts in the Narcotics Control Bureau and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security.
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