BS Bassi is Delhi police chief

A commerce-cum-law graduate who grew up in humble surroundings at a government quarter assigned to his father in Lutyens' Delhi, Bhim Sen Bassi will now lead the largest metropolitan police force in the country.He is hailed as a 'people's man' by his subordinates and friends alike and is

A commerce-cum-law graduate who grew up in humble surroundings at a government quarter assigned to his father in Lutyens' Delhi, Bhim Sen Bassi will now lead the largest metropolitan police force in the country.

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Special commissioner of police (administration) Bhim Sain Bassi will take over as the New Delhi Police chief from August 1.

Bassi, one of the youngest to have cracked the IPS at the age of 21, will succeed incumbent Neeraj Kumar, who came under massive criticism for the inability of the Delhi Police to curb crimes against women.

"It is up to him to analyse and judge what he needs to do, but making Delhi's women feel safer should be among his top priorities," said Ajai Raj Sharma, former Delhi Police commissioner.

"The criminal justice system is in a flux. He needs to ensure that it is able to further the cause of policing at the grassroots level."

Among other postings, the 1977-batch IPS officer has previously served as DCP (northeast), IGP (Chandigarh) and Special CP (vigilance and intelligence).

He is hailed as a 'people's man' by his subordinates and friends alike and is originally from Dera Bassi near Mohali, Punjab.

As DCP (north) around the beginning of his career, he handled the Mandal agitation of 1990 and maintained law and order through the communally troubling times of LK Advani's Rath Yatra before the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1996.

More recently, as special commissioner of police (administration), a 5,000-flat residential complex meant for Delhi Police constables and head constables at Dhirpur was his brainchild.

"He interviewed and interacted with hundreds of personnel about the feasibility of the project, the amenities they expected and the services they needed. The 14-storey residential project has been completed successfully," said a senior Delhi Police officer.