A day after Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was attacked at a public hearing, Satish Golcha, Director General (Prisons), was appointed as the new Commissioner of Police, Delhi, officials said on Thursday. He takes charge 20 days after Shashi Bhushan Kumar Singh, Director General of Home Guards in Delhi, was given interim charge following the retirement of IPS officer Sanjay Arora on August 1.
People familiar with the matter said Singh’s appointment was always meant to be a stop-gap arrangement, but the change was expedited after Wednesday’s incident involving the chief minister. However, sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said, “The order of appointment of the new CP has nothing to do with the attack on Rekha Gupta. The DG Home Guard was given additional charge only of Delhi Police.”
The official order dated Thursday, issued by the MHA, read: “With the approval of the Competent Authority, Sh. Satish Golcha, IPS (AGMUT:1992), presently posted as Director General (Prisons), Delhi, is hereby appointed to the post of the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, with effect from the date of assumption of charge and until further orders.”
Born in April 1967, Golcha joined the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre in October 1992. He has served as Director General of Police in Arunachal Pradesh and as Special Commissioner in Delhi Police in both law and order and intelligence units. He also spent several years in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Golcha was also reportedly part of the team probing the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
{{/usCountry}}Born in April 1967, Golcha joined the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre in October 1992. He has served as Director General of Police in Arunachal Pradesh and as Special Commissioner in Delhi Police in both law and order and intelligence units. He also spent several years in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Golcha was also reportedly part of the team probing the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
{{/usCountry}}Golcha took over as DG (Prisons) in May 2024, overseeing Tihar, Mandoli, and Rohini jails. According to a senior prison department officer, he faced challenges such as gang activity, illicit mobile usage by inmates, and violent incidents, including the murders of gangster Prince Teotia and Sunil Tajpuria in 2023.
Golcha succeeds Singh, who, during his interim tenure as commissioner, directed all district deputy commissioners of police (DCPs) and station house officers (SHOs) to conduct two hours of daily foot patrols from 4.30pm to 6.30pm to improve police visibility. Singh also instructed that two officials, including a woman officer, must be present at all times at the public facilitation desk in every police station.
Singh asked assistant commissioners of police (ACPs) to keep a close watch on sub-inspectors in their jurisdictions. In his Independence Day address, he also set fresh targets for the force, asking units to propose ways within 15 days to reduce dependence on external agencies for specialised resources such as commandos, bomb disposal squads, and wireless systems. He directed technology units to submit recommendations within a month on enhancing surveillance, cybercrime prevention, anti-drone defence, and counter-terror operations.