The Election Commission has appointed senior IPS officer Ajay Kumar Singh as the new Director General of Police (DGP) for Jharkhand, PTI reports, citing official sources said. This decision follows the removal of acting Director General of Police (DGP) Anurag Gupta due to his “history” of election-related misconduct in previous polls.
Singh, a 1989-batch officer from the Jharkhand cadre, was selected from a panel of three candidates provided by the state government.
During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Anurag Gupta was relieved of his duties as Additional Director General (Special Branch) following allegations of bias from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, according to an Election Commission source, reports The Indian Express. He was reassigned to the Jharkhand Resident Commissioner’s office in Delhi and instructed not to return to the state until after the elections.
In the 2016 Rajya Sabha elections, Gupta faced accusations of misusing his authority while serving as Additional DGP. The Election Commission formed an inquiry committee based on these allegations, leading to an FIR filed on March 29, 2018.
In 2021, the Jharkhand government granted permission for an investigation under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The Election Commission had directed the state government to comply with its requests and submit a report by 7 PM on Saturday, along with a panel of senior IPS officers for consideration by 10 AM on Monday.
Jharkhand is scheduled to hold elections in two phases on November 13 and 20. Results will be announced on November 23.