Kiran Bedi to return to work

Kiran Bedi who went on a three-month "protest leave" after losing the job of Delhi's police commissioner to YS Dadwal last week, has said she will resume work on Friday.

Kiran Bedi, one of India's most decorated police officers who went on a three-month "protest leave" after losing the job of Delhi's police commissioner to YS Dadwal last week, has said she will resume work on Friday.

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Bedi, a 1972 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, is currently posted as director general of the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD).

"I have left the past behind and decided to move on. I had a very useful meeting with Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil on Thursday morning after which I decided to return to work," Bedi told IANS on Thursday.

"It's a word of honour between me and the minister and I am bound to respect this," she said while refusing to reveal the details of meeting.

Bedi, however, refused to comment on whether she has accepted the appointment of Dadwal, a 1974-batch IPS officer, as Delhi's new police chief.

"You may add or subtract anything on the issue and I have said enough," she added.

"It's complete injustice to me and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has let me down. I am completely disappointed with the government and the bureaucracy," an angry Bedi had said.

"Prime Minister Singh was my last hope and he should have respected merit. He has not only let me down but the entire police system. It is also a rejection of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi who had recommended my name for the post. It is also a rejection of the people of Delhi who wanted to see me as their police commissioner."

Bedi is two years senior to Dadwal and was keen to take charge of Delhi Police where she has served with distinction in various posts.

She became a household name in the Indian capital when she took charge of Delhi Traffic Police in the 1980s, earning in the process the sobriquet "Crane Bedi" because of her penchant for using cranes for removing vehicles parked illegally.

She then went on to hold several posts, including that of deputy inspector general of police in Mizoram, inspector general of police in Chandigarh, director general of Narcotics Control Bureau, inspector general of police at Tihar Jail, joint commissioner of police training and as special commissioner in charge of intelligence in Delhi POlice.

Bedi then went on deputation to the United Nations. She won the Magsaysay Award for government service. She later became the director general of the BPRD.