Bengaluru: It is likely that the Om Prakash, the Director General of Police, Fire and Emergency Services, will be sworn in as state’s new Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG&IGP) on Saturday.
Sources in the Home ministry told News Karnataka that the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has decided to name Om Prakash as the new DG&IGP after considering the seniority list of three officials including DGP(Training and Recruitment) Sushant Mahapatra, Deputy Director of CBI RK Datta and Fire and Emergency Services DGP Om Prakash.
However, the high level committee of the state to select the police chief will meet on Friday evening and the CM will issue the promotion and posting orders of the DG&IGP by Saturday afternoon, sources said. As per the procedure, CM has to select the from the list sent by the empanelment committee of UPSC and the selection is left to the discretionary power of the Chief Minister. Though the procedure is to consider the senior most officer, it is left to the decision of the CM.
The present DG&IGP Lalrokhuma Pachuau will be retiring from services on Saturday and his farewell service parade was conducted on Friday morning and according to the sources, Om Prakash would be taking charge from him on Saturday evening.
According to the seniority, Sushanth R Mahapatra is the first choice and the second is Rupak Kumar Datta. However controversies in which they are involved, have allegedly adversely affected their prospects for elevation to the top police post in the state. The senior most IPS officer Sushant Mahapatra is facing another case of signing for passport applications, which is under Lokayukta investigations. Datta, though he has good service records, is involved in various controversies which include a criminal case filed by another IPS officer Hemanth Nimbalkar and answering the law exam without having government permission. These controversies are said to have helped Om Prakash’s elevation to the top post, sources said.
It is said that Om Prakash, though not a popular name among the powers that be, is not facing any serious charges against him. RK Datta, though he has a very good track record and reputation as ADGP (Lokayukta) and has experience of working in the Central Intelligence Bureau, is losing his hopes because of the charges against him. The CID has completed investigation on the charges of giving wrong information against Nimbalkar, when a Lokayukta raid was conducted against the latter, and filed a B (closing ) report recently.
Om Prakash, a native of Bihar and is an MSc from Banaras University. He joined the IPS in 1981 and started his carreer as a Superintendent of Police Udupi. He also worked in Chikkamagaluru, Shimoga and Karwar as SP. During the Babri Masjid incident, Karwar district, under his leadership, did not see any major incident of communal violence.. In 1990, he was sent to Bhatkal to control communal clashes, and he did it effectively.
