Senior IPS officer Dinkar Gupta was on Thursday appointed as the Punjab director general of police. He succeeds Suresh Arora...

Chandigarh, Feb 7: Dinkar Gupta, a 1987 batch officer of the IPS, was on Thursday appointed as the Director General of the Punjab Police. He succeeds Suresh Arora, who had been on an extension after his retirement on September 30 last year. His appointment was cleared by the Chief Minister this morning.  A decorated officer, Dinkar Gupta is the senior most of the three officers, all of the same batch, to be empaneled for appointment to the top post by the UPSC earlier this week.

In his previous stint, Gupta was posted as Director General of Police, Intelligence, Punjab, which involved the direct supervision of Punjab State Intelligence Wing, State Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and Organized Crime Control Unit (OCCU).  An experienced and distinguished officer, Gupta was empanelled on 26.4.2018 for appointment to Additional Director General level post at the Centre-  one out of the twenty 1987 batch IPS officers to be so empanelled, and the only one from Punjab. 

He did an eight-year stint on central deputation with the MHA, from June 2004 to July 2012, where he held many sensitive assignments, including Head of the Dignitary Protection Division of the MHA. He had served as Senior Superintendent of Police (District Police Chief) of Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur districts for more than 7 years during the terrorist phase in Punjab. He also served as DIG (Jalandhar Range), DIG (Ludhiana Range), DIG (Counter-Intelligence), Punjab and DIG (Intelligence), Punjab till 2004. 

Dinkar Gupta new DGP of Punjab

Among his other past assignments in the state were ADGP Administration & Community Policing (2015-17), ADGP Provisioning & Modernization (2014-2015), ADGP Law & Order (2012-2015), ADGP Security (2012-2015), ADGP Traffic (2013-2014) DIG Range (over 1 year in 2002 & 2003-04), SSP (7 years from January 1992 to January 1999).

Dinkar Gupta was decorated with Police Medal for Gallantry (1992) and Bar to Police Medal for Gallantry (1994) for display of exceptional courage, conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty of a high order. He was  also decorated with the Police Medal for Meritorious Services by the President and the Presidents Police Medal for Distinguished Service (2010). 

DGP Dinkar Gupta calls on CM after taking over

Gupta has also been a Visiting Professor (2000-01) at the George Washington University, Washington DC (USA) and American University, Washington DC, where he was invited to design and teach a course titled ‘Governments under Siege: Understanding Terrorism and Terrorists’ in January-May 2001. In 1999, Gupta was awarded the British Chevening Gurukul Scholarship by the British Council to attend the 10-week Gurukul Programme in Leadership and Excellence at London School of Economics, London. 

He has trained with many International Police Forces, including the Scotland Yard, London and New York Police Department. He has also lectured at leading American think tanks and universities. He represented India at a Symposium on International Terrorism organized by INTERPOL in 1996. 

DGP Dinkar Gupta calls on CM after taking over

He visited the UK in November 1997 on the request of the Crown Prosecution Service as an expert on Indian Criminal Law in connection with the trial of a double murder committed by a British citizen of Indian origin. He again visited the UK to attend a Conference on ‘Responding to International Terrorism’ in 2002. In 1997, he was invited to make a presentation during the DGPs/IGPs Conference of India on SuperCop, a Software developed by him for crime database management and Village Information System.